S AT U R D AY, F E B R U A RY 0 4 , 2 0 0 6Western Union Telegrams: RIPThis Independent profile of playwright Edward Albee -- timed to theLondon premiere of the marvelous revival of Who's Afraid of VirginiaWoolf? starring Kathleen Turner and Bill Irwin -- casually mentionsthat Albee once worked as a messenger for Western Union.</p><p> And thatreminded me of a one-line item I saw in the paper this week: WesternUnion has discontinued telegrams and will focus only on wiring money.After 150 years, the telegram is no more.</p><p> What will people make of TheHuman Comedy starring Mickey Rooney (or the book by WilliamSaroyan)? Who will explain to people the shots in films of someonewandering through a hotel lobby saying, "Telegram for Mr.</p><p> Smith.</p><p> Mr.Smith? Telegram?" Sad.BONUS: What was the text of the very first telegram (sent by SamuelMorse)? It was: "What hath God wrought?"POSTED BY MICHAEL IN NEW YORK AT 10:45 AM 4 C O M M E N T S :Anonymous said...What was the last telegram?11:30 AM Michael in New York said...They didn't say, but it was delivered on Friday, January 27, 2006.11:31 AM NYCD Online said...I still remember the only two telegrams I ever got -- both in the late'70s, both at sleepaway camp in the Catskills.</p><p> One was from mygodparents, wishing me a happy 10th birthday, and the other was frommy mom, just looking for an interesting way to say hello.Unfortunately, because they came to the front desk at camp, I never gotto tip the Western Union guy, which was part of the whole experience, Isuppose.Next Blog»sal1mineo@hotmail.comSEARCH BLOG FLAG BLOGFOLLOW BLOGP O P S U R F I N G .</p><p> C O MS U R F I N G T H E WAV E S O F P O P U L A R C U LT U R EB Y M I C H A E L G I LT Z & F R I E N D SPOPSURFING.COM: Western Union Telegrams: RIPhttp://popsurfing.blogspot.com/2006/02/western-union-telegram... 1 of 37/29/09 3:33 AMFAV O R I T E L I N K SAmericablogFive O'Clock Lightning baseball blogDeep Pop -- Lori Lakin's BlogThe Back Page -- Jason Page on ESPNRadioCine-Blog -- George Robinson's BlogDocuments On Art & Cinema - DarylChin's BlogBrucie G's Wondrous Blog OfAdventure and Mystery -- BruceGreenspan's BlogB L O G A R C H I V E▼ 2009 (17)▼ July (3)1939 -- The Greatest Year ForMoviesSwimming Bans Those Hi-TechSuits!Best Movies Of The Year -- TheMaster List► June (3)► May (1)► March (2)► February (1)► January (7)► 2008 (86)► 2007 (781)► 2006 (2412)► 2005 (5)C O N T R I B U TO R SAaronMichael in New YorkBiboy POPSURFING.COM: Western Union Telegrams: RIPhttp://popsurfing.blogspot.com/2006/02/western-union-telegram... 2 of 37/29/09 3:33 AMPOPSURFING.COM: Western Union Telegrams: RIPhttp://popsurfing.blogspot.com/2006/02/western-union-telegram... 3 of 37/29/09 3:33 AM
