How do I get a copy of my saved-on-AOL emails (not saved on my computer)

[brockenspectre]

Hi all

Thank you again for all your advice on this.

The point, however, seems to be that "once an email, always an email" belonging to or readable only by a/some email software with the mail actually stored on the originating server/ISP.

I suppose what I had in mind was something along the lines of downloading Word documents to a USB stick so that one could select a bunch of emails and save them as type X (whatever dot suffix is used for emails) and keep the USB stick somewhere safely. Then if I have a problem I could simply find a computer somewhere and read my mails (providing said computer was compatible with the email type).

All the options currently proposed imply that you have to keep your emails associated with an email address, via a service such as Thunderbird for example, and there is no way of make them standalone. Is this right?

My health is pretty rubbish at the mo so I have windows of "opportunity" where my will and my body combine to let me do stuff.. hopefully one shall improve no end but this issue is just really bugging me!!