Welcome to the Daily Quote – a podcast designed to kickstart your day in a positive way. I'm your host, Andrew McGivern, for July 29th.
Today is National Chicken Wing Day – and before you ask, yes, it's also International Chicken Wing Day. Apparently the world couldn't agree on whether wings deserve national or global recognition, so we got both. Which honestly feels about right for something that brings people together over plates of saucy, sticky goodness.
Now, chicken wings weren't always the superstar appetizer we know today. They were actually considered scraps – the throwaway parts that butchers would use for soup stock. It wasn't until 1964 when Teressa Bellissimo at the Anchor Bar in Buffalo, New York, tossed some wings in hot sauce and butter out of necessity to feed her son and his friends late one night. And just like that, Buffalo wings were born – turning forgotten scraps into one of America's most beloved foods.
There's something beautiful about that story, which brings us to today's quote from Maya Angelou, who once said:
"There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you."
Now you might be wondering what chicken wings have to do with untold stories, but hear me out. Those wings sat in obscurity for decades – overlooked, undervalued, with their potential completely untapped. They had a story to tell, but no one was listening. Until one creative moment changed everything.
How many of us have our own "chicken wing moments"? Those ideas, dreams, or talents that we've dismissed as scraps – not worthy of the main course of our lives?
Maybe it's that book you've been meaning to write, the art you create in secret, or even just the encouraging words you hold back because you think they don't matter.
Maya Angelou understood that our stories – especially the ones we're afraid to tell – often hold the most power. They're waiting to be shared, to be celebrated, to transform from something we think is ordinary into something that brings people together.
So today, whether you're enjoying some wings or just going about your regular Tuesday, think about what story you've been keeping to yourself. What potential are you overlooking? Sometimes the scraps we dismiss are exactly what the world needs to hear.
That's going to do it for today. I'm Andrew McGivern, signing off for now but I'll be back tomorrow – same pod time, same pod station – with another Daily Quote.