The way I know if a story feels amazing to me is that my arms get cold when I hear it (or tell it). Just ask my students -- they've been there in class when this has happened to me.
So, listen to this amazing story I heard on CBC radio earlier this week. Young hockey players from Ajax, Ontario escaped just in time last week when the roof of the Pennsylvania arena they were playing in collapsed. The boys, who are seven years old, are on the Ajax Knights Tyke White team. I heard their coach interviewed and here comes the amazing part -- the part that to me, feels readymade for a kids' story: the Ajax Knights's goalie had just allowed the other team to score a goal on him. If they hadn't scored, the game which had been tied until that point, would have gone into overtime... and chances are the players would not have survived the roof's collapse.
So, in a world where the focus is on winning and scoring, here's a story where the hockey player who messed up actually saved a lot of lives. Sometimes, it pays to mess up! I'm relieved of course that no kids were injured, but I'm also inspired story-wise. How 'bout you?