Why do we need stories?

What would life be like if we didn't have stories? That we need stories is evidenced by the shelves full of books in our libraries and bookstores and schools, and by the sold-out movie theatres that you'll find in every corner of every country of the world. We find stories everywhere - on the radio, in the lyrics of a song, in the words of the lady at the water cooler recounting her weekend away. But WHY do we need stories? I found a wonderful answer to this question here today, in an article by Jacqui Banaszynski. She writes:

I asked Pete (a journalist writing about forest services) last week to tell me why we need stories, and he sent me back a note which, he confessed, was wine-induced, and he said this:

“I need stories to know I’m not alone. That is reason enough. They tell me what we do and how we live and occasionally, if I’m lucky, they tell me why. There is a commonality to stories that makes us whole beings. Walt Whitman knew that when he wrote ‘Leaves of Grass’:

‘I celebrate myself,
And what I assume, you shall assume,
For every atom belonging to me as good belongs to you.’”

There's more to it than that, I'm sure, but it's a pretty good starting point.