Hotmail Horrors!

Yesterday I went into my hotmail email account as usual and signed in. Now, I have had this same account and password for about 10 years, so I could sign in blind. For some reason I kept getting an "error" message telling me my password was wrong. I checked to make sure I spelled it correctly and that it was in lower case and still it would not accept. Finally, I was asked some personal information as well as an answer to a "secret question". Well, the secret question was "who is you favorite historical figure?" What??? I don't remember ever setting up any account with that kind of a secret question. Usually it is your mother's maiden name or your dog as a child. Not only that, but I signed up so many years ago that I couldn't possibly remember what the answer was. I barely remember what state I signed up in as I have moved at few times.
O.K., at this point I try to get a hold of someone through the "contact" on the webpage and give them an alternate email address to answer. I get the "format" response every time even though I kept changing the wording in my plea to them. Now I am online searching google for Windows Live so that I can find a real live person to help me with my problem. Still waiting for a response.
I have so many important emails saved on my account. Emails from my son when he was over in Germany in the service. A poem my daughter wrote to me years ago for my birthday. A special Grandmas are Angels poem I received. Not to mention I had just ordered something from Amazon.com and all the shipping info is coming through on that account. Fortunately I always take a copy of any purchases I make.
The moral of this story is---be sure to have a backup file to all your email information if you can. Take paper copies of anything important to you (which I should have done) such as poems, special emails, purchases, all your email friends, etc. because you never know when you might be locked out of your account and are wandering around in cyberspace trying to find anyone who will help you get back in!