Friday. Like every day, the widower awoke to a still estate, silence broken occasionally by his stoic butler’s steps.

His children had left long ago with their trust funds.

His diminished spirits lifted when his chauffeur drove him to his last joy. Taking his place, he smiled. “Welcome to Walmart!”

Bryan Joyner is a middle-aged banker who read about 50-word stories in Daniel Pink’s book “A Whole New Mind”, and began using the concept to connect with his two college age children. Each of them write stories and send them to each other for feedback.