Help configure fetchmail

After more than a decade using fetchpop and mailx to get my
mail something has changed and fetchpop segfaults getting
the mail. I tried to re-build fetchpop 1.9 with debug set,
but that version just hangs.

I am running Slackware 13.37 and I normally do not
start /etc/rc.d/rc.sendmail.

Here is my fetchpop recent experience:
fetchpop 1.9pl1 release, by Seung-Hong Oh.
using mailbox folder /var/spool/mail/root
Fetching all mail from the remote server.
You have 3 new messages and total of 3 messages.
[Message # 1] From: "Sony Savings" <Sony-Electronics@sel-email.sel.sony.com>
[Message # 1] Subject: Incredible Savings with VAIO Clearance + More Offers

Segmentation fault <<<<-this is my problem

Mail version nail 10.5 4/27/03. Type ? for help.
"/var/spool/mail/root": 1 message 1 new

N 1 Sony Savings Tue Mar 20 15:29 745/78230 "Incredible Savings with VAIO Clearance + More Offers"

That segfault prevents getting the rest of the mail,
and I can't delete the messages.




So I decided to try fetchmail to get my mail.

This is my .fetchmailrc

poll myserver
with protocol pop3
username mynmame password mypassword is root
smtphost localhost
;

I settled on this because, after half a dozen other
"examples" this one seemed to get me farthest.

When I run:
/usr/bin/fetchmail -a

fetchmail: WARNING: Running as root is discouraged.
3 messages for myname at myserver (364938 octets).
fetchmail: Connection errors for this poll:
name 0: connection to localhost:smtp [127.0.0.1/25] failed: Connection refused.
fetchmail: SMTP connect to localhost failed
fetchmail: SMTP transaction error while fetching from myname@myserver and delivering to SMTP host localhost
reading message myname@myserver:1 of 3 (78927 octets)fetchmail: Query status (SMTP)

I have a standard /etc/services with these two lines:
smtp 25/tcp mail #Simple Mail Transfer
smtp 25/udp mail #Simple Mail Transfer

after starting sendmail:

/usr/bin/fetchmail -a

fetchmail: WARNING: Running as root is discouraged.
3 messages for myname at myserver (364938 octets).
fetchmail: SMTP error: 550 5.0.0 Access denied
reading message myname@myserver:1 of 3 (78927 octets) not flushed
fetchmail: SMTP error: 550 5.0.0 Access denied
reading message myname@myserver:2 of 3 (78927 octets) not flushed
fetchmail: SMTP error: 550 5.0.0 Access denied
reading message myname@myserver:3 of 3 (78927 octets) not flushed
fetchmail: SMTP error: 550 5.0.0 Access denied


I have spend most of this afternoon screwing around with google
examples and nothing works. Can anyone tell me WTF is happening?
TIA