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Laffish Story |
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Born in 1910 on a farm in Golden City, Missouri, Bernard Laffish was by all accounts an unhappy baby. From the minute he was born and everyday for that following week he wailed with such a high pitched screech that it shattered glass. As he grew older, he became known as "Hard Bernard" for his gruff personality and lack of humor. Even his mother said he had no sense for comic timing. That all changed when, at the age of 15, he contracted tuberculosis and was bedridden for several months. During those months, through sheer willpower, he decided to turn his life around and become happy. He would repeat over and over "laughter is the best medicine" until his voice became hoarse. When he finally recovered from his illness he was a different man. His mother cried when he told his first joke and had the room in stitches. From then on his charismatic personality became a magnet for success. He made his initial fortune by starting the Laffish General Store. His motto was "a laugh with every wagon wheel." He became such a well known story teller in Golden City that he decided to start his own newspaper, the LaughFish Gazette, so that he could spread his humorous stories to the world. From there he turned the LaughFish name into a media icon with interests in publishing, gaming, television, and radio. Before he died in 2000, Bernard saw the vision of the internet and snapped up all the LaughFish domain names he could get his hands on. In his will he bequeathed a different domain name to each of his four children: Carolyn, Carlton, Roger, and Billy (see pictures below). According to his will, Carolyn inherited LaughFish.biz "to build character," Carlton inherited LaughFish.com because "he needs the most help," Roger inherited LaughFish.net since "he's the most intellectual," and Billy inherited LaughFish.org because "he'll always live in the non-profit world." Where the children will take the LaughFish brand is not known, but they will always remember their father's dying words, the same words he repeated to himself when he was a child, "laughter is the best medicine."
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