I think the ingenious part about this story is the (title) message. Somehow, it forms a juxtaposition to the rest of the story. Maybe because of its brevity, maybe because it seems kinda funny (the ending confirms this), maybe because the expectation while you're reading the story is nothing like what the message turns out to be.

Because of this, in a way, the story can be divided into two parts: before the message, and after the message. Which is how it should be, considering that the thing that shook the people in the story, should be the focal point around which the story itself turns.

Standford

Stanford?