THE BEGINING OF THE INTERNET

An old bearded shephard with a crooked staff walked up to a stone
pulpit and said, "And lo, it came to pass that a caravan trader by the
name of Abraham Com did take unto himself a young wife by the name of
Dot." Now Dot Com was a comely and strong woman, broad of shoulder and
long of leg. Over time, she had come to be known as Amazon Dot Com.

One day she said to Abraham, her husband, "Why doth thou travel from
town to town with thy goods when thou can trade without ever leaving
thy tent?" And Abraham looked at her as though she were several saddle
bags short of a camel load, but simply said, "How, Dear?" And Dot
replied, "I will place drums in all the towns and drums in between to
send messages saying what you have for sale. Those who meet your price
can send gold, and you can deliver your goods by Uriah's Pony Stable
(UPS). To buy, you can select the best price being offered." Abraham
thought long and decided to let Dot have her way with the drums. And
the drums thundered and were an immediate success.

Abraham traded without leaving his tent. But this success did arouse
envy. And lo, the land was so feverish with joy at the new riches and
the deafening sound of the drums, that no one noticed that the real
riches were going to the drum maker, one Brother William of Gates, who
had bought up every drum company in the land. And did indeed insist on
making drums that would work only if you bought Brother Gates'
drumsticks. So Dot did say, "Oh Abraham, what we have started is being
taken over by others."

As Abraham pondered while looking out over the Bay of Ezekiel, or as
it came to be known "eBay," he said, "We need a name that reflects
what we are." And Dot replied, "Young Ambitious Hebrew Owner
Operators." "Whoopee!" said Abraham. "No, YAHOO!" said Dot Com. And
that is how it all began. It was not Al Gore after all.