The Telegram’s Glory Days

I, like Dan Neil, mourn the demise of the telegram (“R.I.P. STOP,” 800 Words, Feb. 19). It was, as he said, a “pretty classy” way to communicate. My experience with its classiness took place about 35 years ago, when my writing collaborator and I were vainly scratching at editorial doors with our short humor pieces. One particular target was the “Accent on Living” section of the Atlantic Monthly. I’ll never forget the day a telegram arrived. What could it be? What disaster had struck?

It turned out to be from the sainted Charles W. Morton, then-editor of our target Atlantic section. Our piece had been accepted! Unforgettable. If only we had framed the telegram and hung it on the wall so we could daily revisit that delicious frisson of excitement that no phone call or letter or e-mail could ever match.

Barbara Toohey

Van Nuys