As Don drove, he reveled in this week’s ecstasies: a promotion, the Humanitarian Award, and his engagement.

He bent to answer his phone, looked up to see red–the traffic light–heard a thud, and saw red again in his mirror, oozing from a still body.

He hit the gas.

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.