Delightfully Delusional is a Wildcat Chronicle podcast centered on the ramblings of two high school seniors as they examine the news, pop culture, and everyday life. The podcast is linked below, and a transcript is included as well.

This podcast episode features “New Life”, a copyright-free song by Moire obtained from Uppbeat.

Michaela Miller  00:00

Hey, Lauren.

Lauren Dusing  00:01

Hey Michaela,

Michaela Miller  00:02

Welcome to Delightfully Delusional.

Lauren Dusing  00:03

So excited to have you here.

Michaela Miller  00:05

Always a pleasure. Okay, so we’re gonna start off with a little just what’s going on, what’s the word, What’s the haps in our lives right now? And we’re gonna do a little news style report of what’s going on in our lives. Would you like to start? Would you like me to start? You can start? Okay, we are reporting live from Michaela’s basement, where several hours prior, I was working on college essays for seven hours straight. Today, I got a full night’s sleep last night, and haven’t worked on homework, but that is a okay. I’m currently trying to pick out my Prom dress. The options are, wow, Homecoming!

Lauren Dusing  01:02

Pram…

Michaela Miller  01:03

Homecoming dress. I’m sorry the options are green, another green one or a different green one. So the options are real [inaudible] here.

Lauren Dusing  01:09

I’m feeling like you like green.

Michaela Miller  01:11

Maybe, could you tell?

Lauren Dusing  01:14

It’s kind of hard for me to decipher that.

Michaela Miller 01:17

The undertones, um, and yeah, making my, my Homecoming proposal sign for my friend. What’s…What’s up with you?

Lauren Dusing  01:26

Um, so, you know, obviously reporting live from Michaela’s basement. Recently, I did a similar type of Homecoming ask with friends. It went well. I also went and saw “The Nightmare Before Christmas” for the first time last night.

Michaela Miller  01:39

Are you serious?

Lauren Dusing  01:40

I’ve never seen that movie, and I do have to say I was scared. I was, I was scared.

Michaela Miller  01:44

It’s the animation.

Lauren Dusing  01:45

It’s the animation for me, I know. And I also, like, wish they did it about like, Valentine’s Day.

Michael Miller 01:52

Like, why would it be “The Nightmare Before Christmas”?

Lauren Dusing  01:55

Like, we can make it “The Nightmare Before Valentine’s Day”. I feel like same concept, just like, it’s a better holiday.

Michaela Miller  02:01

And it all, it all takes place in one day.

Lauren Dusing  02:05

Yes, and like, make it all pink. Anyways, had a lovely tournament with my [volleyball] team. Have probably sustained a concussion of sorts. But, you know, we’re out here. We’re live, laugh, loving the basement. Lights are dim. It is perfectly good. Yeah, I took three hour nap today as well. That was also –

Michaela Miller  02:24

How healing. Probably sustained a concussion. Girl, you can’t even like sit in normal lighting.

Lauren Dusing  02:30

I literally took an SAT with a concussion. So I honestly, I fear that this is not as bad.

Michaela Miller  02:35

Did you do well in the SAT even took when you had a concussion?.

Lauren Dusing  02:37

I don’t really need to discuss that. Okay, just like I still took it…

Michaela Miller  02:41

Maybe not the highest functioning with the concussion.

Lauren Dusing  02:44

Yes.

Michaela Miller  02:45

Yes.

Lauren Dusing  02:46

But we don’t have school on Monday.

Michaela Miller  02:48

So it doesn’t count.

Lauren Dusing  02:49

It doesn’t count.

Michaela Miller  02:51

One more day of recovering. You’re fine.

Lauren Dusing  02:53

Of course.

Michaela Miller  02:55

Okay.  Would you care to bring up our first topic?

Lauren Dusing  03:08

Hurricane Milton.

Michaela Miller  03:09

Something you would not shut up about for the pas week.

Lauren Dusing  03:13

I am just astounded, because I could not survive a hurricane. Because, like, okay, but I would like to say that I feel as though Floridians are built different.

Michaela Miller  03:26

They are.

Lauren Dusing  03:27

They’re built different from Illinois people.

Michaela Miller  03:31

Illinoisians?

Lauren Dusing  03:32

Illini.

Michaela Miller  03:33

No, that is the college, Illini.

Lauren Dusing  03:36

That’s like, anyways, no, but I just like, I don’t think the Illinois, Midwest mind could comprehend surviving a hurricane.

Michaela Miller  03:43

I totally agree.

Lauren Dusing  03:44

And it’s like, I think, because it’s just like, the scale that we’re working with there so much different and like, like that we have, like Michigan, but like that does not make us beach people.

Michaela Miller  03:55

Baby, you’re not gonna get a hurricane off like Michigan.

Lauren Dusing  03:57

Exactly. And I’m like, these people in Florida, like, they are, like, have to be so strong to, like, pack your whole house up and leave.

Michaela Miller  04:04

Right?

Lauren Dusing  04:05

And be like, Okay, peace out, Queen. Hopefully I’ll see you later.  But like, and then if you’re not leaving, if you’re, like, choosing to stay for whatever reason, like, whether you can’t get out or whatnot, like, how strong you also have to be to be like, ‘Okay, so I’m not leaving, and I don’t really know what will happen.’

Michaela Miller  04:08

Right?  Right?

Lauren Dusing  04:21

And it’s like, because some of those people couldn’t get out because, like, they didn’t have gas, or, like, their zone wasn’t, like, considered bad enough to, like, really need them to leave. And so it’s like, and other people were just like, like, Lieutenant Dan was that who he was? Wait, there was a man who lived on a boat.

Michaela Miller  04:23

Sorry. Mic check.

Lauren Dusing  04:24

Yeah. There was a man who lived on his little sailboat, and he was like, I refuse to leave. He’s like, ‘I’m gonna ride out the storm on my boat on thewaves.’

Michaela Miller  04:51

Is Lieutenant Dan not the guy from “Forrest Gump”?

Lauren Dusing  04:53

I’m actually gonna look. I’m gonna confirm.

Michaela Miller  04:56

I’m sorry.

Lauren Dusing  04:57

I think it was.

Michaela Miller 05:00

Ooh, but yeah, the situation down there is, like, not good ever since, ever since I had the conversation with you about it, it’s like, on my Instagram reels, reels now. And that’s like, fine, but it’s just like, I see these video – videos, and I’m like, ‘That is terrifying. How can you house the on fire and in water at the exact same time?’

Lauren Dusing  05:15

Yeah, this is Lieutenant Dan.

Michaela Miller  05:18

Is he alive?

Lauren Dusing  05:19

I believe so.

Michaela Miller  05:21

Okay.

Lauren Dusing  05:21

That’s him.

Michaela Miller  05:22

Oh, does he have two legs?

Lauren Dusing  05:24

Yeah. And this is his boat. So he was like,

Michaela Miller 05:30

Okay, for viewer reference, it is, it’s like a literally dinghy.

Lauren Dusing  05:33

Literally a sailboat…

Michaela Miller  05:35

Yeah.

Lauren Dusing  05:35

Yeah.

Michaela Miller  05:36

It’s like a little guy. Ooh.

Lauren Dusing  05:38

And so, like, these police officers in Tampa, like, went to him, and were like, ‘You should really get off this boat.’ Like, ‘We’re not recommending you stay here,’ right? And he, in fact, said that he was, he was finna right out the waves. He was like, ‘I’m not leaving because I am a Floridian and I am stronger than this hurricane.’

Michaela Miller 05:54

That is a soul to admire.

Lauren Dusing  05:55

I have to say, I really hope he was okay.

Michaela Miller  05:56

Yeah.

Lauren Dusing  05:58

I don’t, I don’t have not seeing any more Lieutenant Dan updates.

Michaela Miller  06:01

Oh, I really hope we – to all the hearts out there caring about Lieutenant Dan, we hope he’s okay.

Lauren Dusing  06:05

Wishing – wishing him well.

Michaela Miller  06:06

Yeah…

Lauren Dusing  06:06

Genuinely.

Michaela Miller  06:06

Yeah.

Lauren Dusing  06:06

But like, yeah. And then there’s all these, like, people that are going down there now to help and, like, I think Florida saw more tornadoes than they ever have in their whole life.

Michaela Miller  06:18

That’s crazy.

Michaela Miller 06:20

I mean to think about, like, the fact that, like, we had at that one football game, like we were getting like, 60 mile per hour winds in Illinois –

Lauren Dusing  06:28

Yeah.

Michaela Miller  06:28

Which is, like, correct my math, I’m probably wrong, but 1000s of miles from Florida –

Lauren Dusing  06:33

Yeah.

Michaela Miller  06:33

Um. And so if that’s what we’re getting, and we live in the middle of nowhere by a lake, in the middle of a cornfield, and they live on the ocean. Like, what are they getting? You know?

Lauren Dusing  06:44

I know, and that’s what I’m saying, like that. And it’s just like, I personally cannot, like, really comprehend the fact that that hurricane went through Florida, like, went across the state of Florida.

Michaela Miller  06:54

Right? It like, went all the way around.

Lauren Dusing  06:55

Like, I picture Florida to be so much wider than that. Like, no offense to Florida, like, I just think you’re a little bit bigger than that, girl. And it’s like, the fact that our system is just, like, ‘Don’t even fight me, don’t even play,’ and just like, swooped across the whole thing.

Michaela Miller  07:08

Yeah.

Lauren Dusing  07:09

Like –

Michaela Miller  07:09

That’s terrible. Well, shout out to, like, Red Cross, or whoever’s, like, helping with that, because that’s like, oh my gosh. It’s awful. It’s literally, it’s so scary. Like, I can’t even imagine.

Lauren Dusing  07:20

I know I will never live that far south. No, I couldn’t either. And like, you go back to your house and like your house is like floating, or like, if your house – I’ve seen that video.

Michaela Miller  07:29

There was a horse on someone’s roof! Did you see that thing?  How did they get there? He got saved, so he’s okay.

Lauren Dusing  07:37

Yeah. Or I saw another video of these people that, like, there was a lot of flooding, and they opened the door to their house: a gator chilling in the living room. And this thing is probably, like, a six-foot long, six-hundred pound gator, like, absolutely, just chilling, because, like, you don’t know, like, what’s in the water, and people are like, like, all of the animals and the ecosystems, like, get ruined, and there’s like, bacteria in the water. And then, if there’s like, a live wire, like, there could be –

Michaela Miller  08:03

Oh my gosh, electrical wires!

Lauren Dusing  08:03

And then there’s, like, literally, all those animals, like, there could be a shark, there could be a gator, there could be, like, something else. And you’re in the water, then, like, your food…

Michaela Miller  08:17

Yeah, no, that’s scary. That’s the – I forgot, like, with the Everglades, like all of the things that live down there, like those lizards and those snakes and stuff. Like, a lot of those, like, aren’t okay anymore, because they’re, like, completely washed out.

Lauren Dusing  08:29

No, and like, also, like, Tropicana Field was where they set up all of those like, beds and like, supposed to be like a relief center.

Michaela Miller  08:37

Right.

Lauren Dusing  08:37

Well, okay, I don’t think anyone took into consideration the top of Tropicana Field was like, like, tarp-like, material.

Michaela Miller  08:44

Oh yeah! I saw.

Lauren Dusing  08:44

So that was, like, ripped to shreds. Like the wind was just like –

Michaela Miller  08:48

It all came down into the stadium.

Lauren Dusing  08:49

Yes. And so it’s like, I am hoping that there was no one there. Didn’t look like there was.

Michaela Miller  08:54

No, it looked empty.

Lauren Dusing  08:55

But like, if there was someone there, like, what do you do? Like, you’re going to your relief center, and –

Michaela Miller  09:01

You’re not –

Lauren Dusing  09:01

Now you’re not because now it’s, it’s being flooded, because once the tarps are gone, then it’s raining.

Michaela Miller  09:06

Right. And it’s like, a giant bowl. It’s, like, yeah, sealed.

Lauren Dusing  09:09

And so it’s like, and now they can’t even use that as a space for people, for people to go once the hurricane’s over, because it’s not safe. Like, there’s stuff, like hanging from the top of it.

Michaela Miller  09:18

Seriously.

Lauren Dusing  09:19

And I’m like –

Michaela Miller  09:19

Yeah, at that point, it’s like, where do you go, you know?  Yeah.

Lauren Dusing  09:21

But also like, I’m like, ‘Florida, I love you, but why did we think that was a good idea?’  Like, I feel like we should have reconsidered.

Michaela Miller  09:28

I feel like – I just like, I don’t know how long in advance they knew that that hurricane was, like, happening.

Lauren Dusing  09:33

Oh yeah, I was also wondering this.

Michaela Miller  09:34

Because if they knew, like, at least, like, a month in advance, I feel like they should have gotten everyone out of there, like, just as soon as they knew about it.

Lauren Dusing  09:42

I’m like, I feel like, I sound like I don’t understand because it’s like, even people in Florida, when they, like, knew about Milton, like a week before, like, some people in Florida weren’t leaving until like two days before. Because I feel like they were saying that sometimes it’s like, ‘It’ll come up and then it’ll just like, die, like a day or two before predicted.’  And so it’s like, I wonder how far in advance they really know, because sometimes, like, they don’t declare it a hurricane. They’re just like, ‘Oh, it’s just a tropical storm.’

Michaela Miller  10:00

Right?  Yeah, it’s just kind of like that…

Lauren Dusing  10:12

Okay, whatever. And I don’t know if it was a myth, but they’re saying they’re supposed to be another hurricane that goes up Florida through Georgia into the Carolinas. So it would literally –

Michaela Miller  10:23

Really?

Lauren Dusing  10:23

Everybody that is currently being hit or has been hit would just get, like, clocked a third time, all in one go.

Michaela Miller  10:30

Wait, so you’re saying in addition to Helene and Milton?

Lauren Dusing  10:32

In addition. Like, a third one that would hit the people that were affected from Helene and affected from Milton, but I don’t think it’s real. Like, I think that was just like, somebody…

Michaela Miller  10:42

I hope it’s not real.

Lauren Dusing  10:43

Because it was like, predicted, like, way after it would be, like, one of the tropical storms, if it, like –

Michaela Miller  10:49

Right…

Lauren Dusing  10:49

Developed. I don’t think that’s actually real.

Michaela Miller  10:52

Okay, well…

Lauren Dusing  10:53

I really hope it’s not. I don’t, I don’t think we could do that.

Michaela Miller  10:56

No, I don’t know.

Lauren Dusing  10:57

And did you also hear, I’m sorry. I’m so invested in this.

Michaela Miller  11:01

No, it’s okay.

Lauren Dusing  11:01

You don’t understand.

Michaela Miller  11:01

You’re good.

Lauren Dusing  11:02

That they’re saying this could affect the election. Because if you are living in Florida and your house has just been demolished, do you care about voting?

Michaela Miller  11:13

Right? Oh, yeah, they extended college applications for, like, early action deadlines and stuff got extended for, I think it was like, Flor… Floridian students. And then I can’t remember if it was one of the Carolinas, or, like, Georgia or something, or like –

Lauren Dusing  11:26

Yeah.

Michaela Miller  11:26

In one other state, they, like, literally extended the deadlines for the peo- like, the kids who live there, because, I mean, if you don’t have wifi, how are you supposed to fill out your college application?

Lauren Dusing  11:34

Same thing. It’s like, if you – if so many other factors in your life are now, like, going wrong or not going well, like, you’re not worrying about voting, let alone if your polling place will even be open.

Michaela Miller  11:46

Right.

Lauren Dusing  11:46

So they’re saying that, like this could sway the election if lots of people in Florida aren’t voting, if you have –

Michaela Miller  11:52

That’s actually so true!

Lauren Dusing  11:53

If you have less voter turnout in those flooded states. Like, no, you’re literally not. You’re not worrying about that, right? Like, you’re not, I didn’t think about the college application thing either.

Michaela Miller  12:02

Yeah.

Lauren Dusing  12:02

I think that’s just like, so wild. Like, how it like, literally, like affects people so much.

Michaela Miller  12:06

Yeah, it’s crazy. Okay. Well.

Lauren Dusing  12:10

Wow, that was so good, and so long.  that’s the wrap for today’s episode. Thanks for chatting with us.

Michaela Miller  12:18

If you liked what you heard –

Lauren Dusing  12:18

Or even if you didn’t –

Michaela Miller  12:19

Feel free to hit that subscribe button and stick around.

Lauren Dusing  12:22

We’ve got plenty more ramblings where this came from.

Michaela Miller  12:24

And if you’re feeling extra generous, leave us a review. We’ll see you next time on “Delightfully Delusional.”