I couldn't agree more.. Honestly, I find both Text:: modules you suggested pretty nifty, and I would gladly use them - it will certainly prevent bizarre errors if the data specs change in the future.
my point was that it doesn't make sense to use various modules to take care of technicalities like parsing, but then refuse to use modules in the actually functional parts of the code... Using a simple module for a simple task is good, IMO - we know exactly what is happenning behind the curtains, but we're spared from having to write the details.. lazy..