# How old is your oldest voicemail message? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 17, 2012, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-is-your-oldest-voicemail-message/631813 "2012-08-17T20:09:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Asimovian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asimovian/32/172_2.png) [@Asimovian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asimovian)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2012, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-is-your-oldest-voicemail-message/631813/1 "2012-08-17T20:09:46Z")
If it has been more than a month since I’ve last checked my cell phone’s voicemail, the phone will force me to go through all of my saved messages before I can get to new voicemail. It’s a really annoying feature, but it does get me to make sure that my saved messages are really worth keeping since I have to reaffirm the save or delete the message. As I was going through this process this morning, I realized that the oldest message I’ve kept – a message from a friend that makes me laugh every time I hear it – is from December 2007. This struck me as being really old for voicemail, but maybe other people have kept their gems, too, so I figured I’d ask. For the record, I’ve also got several messages from 2010 when my now-wife and I first started dating. Generally some combination of funny and “aww!” Good stuff! ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2012, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-is-your-oldest-voicemail-message/631813/2 "2012-08-17T20:14:27Z")
Whenever the last time was that someone left me a message. I listen to them right away and delete them immediately. ---
**Author:** ![Taomist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/53a042/32.png) [@Taomist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Taomist)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2012, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-is-your-oldest-voicemail-message/631813/3 "2012-08-17T20:23:53Z")
> [@DCnDC](#): > > Whenever the last time was that someone left me a message. I listen to them right away and delete them immediately. Same, though I am always tempted to keep my dad’s around for a while, since I worry about him. Not because of his messages, he’s just…feeling his age. ---
**Author:** ![Jenova\_Tokka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ea5d25/32.png) [@Jenova\_Tokka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jenova_Tokka)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2012, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-is-your-oldest-voicemail-message/631813/4 "2012-08-17T20:24:52Z")
Mine’s is from early March 2010. My dad had just returned from vacation and called to say he was back and had a great time and asked if I could stop by the house the following weekend to pick up a souvenir he got me. He dropped dead of a massive heart attack the next day. I don’t listen to it very often anymore, but the fact that I can still hear him say “Love you. Take care.” anytime I choose is a great comfort. ---
**Author:** ![Rhiannon8404](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhiannon8404/32/17929_2.png) [@Rhiannon8404](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhiannon8404)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2012, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-is-your-oldest-voicemail-message/631813/5 "2012-08-17T20:28:18Z")
There are no messages on my voice mail at the moment. ---
**Author:** ![troubledwater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f4b2a3/32.png) [@troubledwater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/troubledwater)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2012, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-is-your-oldest-voicemail-message/631813/6 "2012-08-17T23:26:37Z")
One from Spring 2006, from my mom, thanking me for helping her with Medicare Part D. She died a few months later. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2012, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-is-your-oldest-voicemail-message/631813/7 "2012-08-18T01:02:02Z")
Just a few days old. I clear them pretty regularly. ---
**Author:** ![Tibby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tibby/32/17030_2.png) [@Tibby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tibby)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2012, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-is-your-oldest-voicemail-message/631813/8 "2012-08-18T02:49:23Z")
> [@Jenova\_Tokka](#): > > Mine’s is from early March 2010. My dad had just returned from vacation and called to say he was back and had a great time and asked if I could stop by the house the following weekend to pick up a souvenir he got me. He dropped dead of a massive heart attack the next day. I don’t listen to it very often anymore, but the fact that I can still hear him say “Love you. Take care.” anytime I choose is a great comfort. I can relate. I keep two voice-mail mail messages. The oldest is 9 months old, from my dad just before he died, the other is a month old, from my mom just before she died. They were the best parents I could have hoped for, the best grandparents my kids could have hoped for, my next door neighbors and my best friends. I can’t erase them. ---
**Author:** ![SeaDragonTattoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@SeaDragonTattoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeaDragonTattoo)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2012, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-is-your-oldest-voicemail-message/631813/9 "2012-08-18T04:00:36Z")
I delete all of mine right after listening to them. Unless I know someone has died before I listen to a message, I’ll have deleted any message before I heard the news. I still don’t think I’d save it, though. Not sure why or why not. ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2012, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-is-your-oldest-voicemail-message/631813/10 "2012-08-18T12:30:50Z")
**SeaDragonTattoo** ’s answer is also mine. I doubt that I could save a message if I wanted to since force of habit has me hitting 3 or 7 (land line or cell) to delete the message as soon as I listen to it. ---
**Author:** ![chela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chela/32/21582_2.png) [@chela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chela)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2012, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-is-your-oldest-voicemail-message/631813/11 "2012-08-18T13:44:56Z")
I have saved a series of texts from my daughter when she was traveling in NYC. I ussually don’t even listen to v oice mail… ---
**Author:** ![F.U.Shakespeare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aca169/32.png) [@F.U.Shakespeare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/F.U.Shakespeare)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2012, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-is-your-oldest-voicemail-message/631813/12 "2012-08-18T16:23:19Z")
I have an old answering machine that I replaced several years ago. I had saved several messages on it. The oldest was from a friend back in my hometown in West Virginia, on September 11, 2001. He said he was just calling to see if I was OK (I sometimes go to the Pentagon for work).