Stories of AAAI -- Before the Beginning and After: A Love Letter

This article provides a personal perspective, in three stories, on the origins of AAAI. In the first story, I explain the reasons justifying AAAI's existence. In the second story. In the second story, I recount some of the controvery over the name artificial intelligence, and explain why it was chosen as the new society's moniker. In the third story, I note that AI has not suffered from the applied versus research scism that has affected other societies. Finally, in the fourth story, I mention some of the early issues of finance.