Charlie Fish & Burn Unit: Txtspk rtrvs telegrams. The succinct, abbreviated language of text messages harks back to a time when important messages were paid for by the word. While the method of delivery has changed, texts echo telegrams. Yet texts are more accessible - which arguably cheapens them metaphorically as well as economically. Believe it or not, you can still send telegrams, so I sent one across the Atlantic to Burn Unit to illustrate the point. This was unexpected! I got this thing in my mailbox, a letter. At first I was completely baffled, figuring it to be some kind of weird direct mail offer. Then I looked closer and saw TXTSPEAK RETRIEVES TELEGRAMS. In that moment, my heart sang because I knew Charlie was completely right. This photo was, of course, made with my cell phone.