diff --git a/data.c b/data.c
index e875f90..0c0d6a2 100644
--- a/data.c
+++ b/data.c
@@ -587,3 +587,23 @@ d_char *queue(snac *snac)
 
     return list;
 }
+
+
+d_char *dequeue(snac *snac, char *fn)
+/* dequeues a message */
+{
+    FILE *f;
+    d_char *obj = NULL;
+
+    if ((f = fopen(fn, "r")) != NULL) {
+        /* delete right now */
+        unlink(fn);
+
+        xs *j = xs_readall(f);
+        obj = xs_json_loads(j);
+
+        fclose(f);
+    }
+
+    return obj;
+}
diff --git a/main.c b/main.c
index dd072e2..42606c2 100644
--- a/main.c
+++ b/main.c
@@ -21,7 +21,10 @@ int main(int argc, char *argv[])
 
         p = list;
         while (xs_list_iter(&p, &fn)) {
-            printf("%s\n", fn);
+            xs *obj;
+
+            obj = dequeue(&snac, fn);
+            printf("%s\n", xs_dict_get(obj, "actor"));
         }
     }
 
diff --git a/snac.h b/snac.h
index 9e8432d..d2df160 100644
--- a/snac.h
+++ b/snac.h
@@ -60,3 +60,4 @@ int is_muted(snac *snac, char *actor);
 
 void enqueue(snac *snac, char *actor, char *msg, int retries);
 d_char *queue(snac *snac);
+d_char *dequeue(snac *snac, char *fn);