diff --git a/src/builtin_actions.py b/src/builtin_actions.py
index b48ed94fa..1ea7cd8a4 100644
--- a/src/builtin_actions.py
+++ b/src/builtin_actions.py
@@ -579,6 +579,24 @@ def _classify_event_heuristic(summary: str) -> tuple:
     return etype, None
 
 
+def _memory_context_lines(mems, limit: int = 40) -> list:
+    """Render Memory rows into short personal-context bullets for event classify.
+
+    Reads the Memory ORM `text` column. The previous inline code read a
+    non-existent `content` attribute, so it raised AttributeError on the first
+    row, the surrounding except swallowed it, and the classifier ran with no
+    personal context at all. getattr keeps it robust to future schema drift.
+    """
+    lines: list = []
+    for m in mems:
+        c = (getattr(m, "text", "") or "").strip()
+        if c:
+            lines.append(f"- {c[:200]}")
+        if len(lines) >= limit:
+            break
+    return lines
+
+
 async def action_classify_events(owner: str, **kwargs) -> Tuple[str, bool]:
     """Hybrid classification of upcoming calendar events: fast heuristic for
     obvious cases, LLM fallback for ambiguous ones. Assigns event_type +
@@ -614,16 +632,11 @@ async def action_classify_events(owner: str, **kwargs) -> Tuple[str, bool]:
             try:
                 from core.database import Memory as _Mem
                 _mems = db.query(_Mem).filter(_Mem.owner == owner).limit(60).all() if owner else []
-                if _mems:
-                    _lines = []
-                    for m in _mems:
-                        c = (m.content or "").strip()
-                        if c:
-                            _lines.append(f"- {c[:200]}")
-                    if _lines:
-                        _memory_context = "USER CONTEXT (relationships, work, life):\n" + "\n".join(_lines[:40]) + "\n\n"
+                _lines = _memory_context_lines(_mems)
+                if _lines:
+                    _memory_context = "USER CONTEXT (relationships, work, life):\n" + "\n".join(_lines) + "\n\n"
             except Exception as _me:
-                logger.debug(f"Could not load memory for classify: {_me}")
+                logger.warning(f"Could not load memory for classify: {_me}")
 
             classified_h = 0
             classified_llm = 0
diff --git a/tests/test_classify_events_memory_text.py b/tests/test_classify_events_memory_text.py
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..328929115
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/test_classify_events_memory_text.py
@@ -0,0 +1,33 @@
+"""classify_events must read the Memory `text` column, not a non-existent
+`content` attribute.
+
+The previous inline loop did `m.content`, which raised AttributeError on the
+first Memory row; the surrounding except swallowed it, so the personal-context
+block the LLM relies on was always empty. The logic now lives in
+`_memory_context_lines`, which reads `text`.
+"""
+from src.builtin_actions import _memory_context_lines
+
+
+class _Mem:
+    def __init__(self, text):
+        self.text = text
+
+
+def test_uses_text_and_truncates_and_skips_blank():
+    lines = _memory_context_lines([_Mem("Alice is my spouse"), _Mem("   "), _Mem("y" * 250)])
+    assert lines[0] == "- Alice is my spouse"
+    assert len(lines) == 2  # the blank row is skipped
+    assert lines[1] == "- " + "y" * 200  # truncated to 200 chars
+
+
+def test_skips_rows_without_text_attribute():
+    class _Bad:  # mimics a schema where the attribute is absent
+        pass
+
+    assert _memory_context_lines([_Bad(), _Mem("ok")]) == ["- ok"]
+
+
+def test_respects_limit():
+    mems = [_Mem(f"memory {i}") for i in range(50)]
+    assert len(_memory_context_lines(mems, limit=40)) == 40