Mr. Rankin. Did you like the photographic work?
Mrs. Oswald. Yes. It was interesting for him. When he would see his work in the newspaper he would always point it out.
Mr. Rankin. He had a reference in his notebook to the word "Microdot". Do you know what he meant by that?
Mrs. Oswald. No.
Mr. Rankin. How did your husband get along with Mrs. Paine?
Mrs. Oswald. He was polite to her, as an acquaintance would be, but he didn't like her. He told me that he detested her—a tall and stupid woman. She is, of course, not too smart, but most people aren't.
Mr. Rankin. Did he ever say anything to indicate he thought Mrs. Paine was coming between him and you?
Mrs. Oswald. No.
Mr. Rankin. Did Mrs. Paine say anything about your husband?
Mrs. Oswald. She didn't say anything bad. I don't know what she thought. But she didn't say anything bad.
Perhaps she didn't like something about him, but she didn't tell me. She didn't want to hurt me by saying anything.
Mr. Rankin. I have understood from your testimony that you did not really care to go to Russia but your husband was the one that was urging that, and that is why you requested the visa, is that correct?
Mrs. Oswald. Yes.
Mr. Rankin. And later he talked about not only you and your child going, but also his going with you, is that right?
Mrs. Oswald. Yes.
Mr. Rankin. Do you know what caused him to make that change?
Mrs. Oswald. At one time—I don't remember whether he was working at that time or not—he was very sad and upset. He was sitting and writing something in his notebook. I asked him what he was writing and he said, "It would be better if I go with you."
Then he went into the kitchen and he sat there in the dark, and when I came in I saw that he was crying. I didn't know why. But, of course, when a man is crying it is not a very pleasant thing, and I didn't start to question him about why.
Mr. Rankin. Did he say to you that he didn't want you to leave him alone?
Mrs. Oswald. Yes.
Mr. Rankin. Did you at that time say anything to him about your all staying in this country and getting along together?
Mrs. Oswald. I told him, of course, that it would be better for us to stay here. But if it was very difficult for him and if he was always worried about tomorrow, then perhaps it would be better if we went.
Mr. Rankin. On the evening of the 21st, was anything said about curtain rods or his taking curtain rods to town the following day?
Mrs. Oswald. No, I didn't have any.
Mr. Rankin. He didn't say anything like that?
Mrs. Oswald. No.
Mr. Rankin. Did you discuss the weekend that was coming up?
Mrs. Oswald. He said that he probably would not come on Friday, and he didn't come—he was in jail.
Mr. Rankin. Did the quarrel that you had at that time seem to cause him to be more disturbed than usual?
Mrs. Oswald. No, not particularly. At least he didn't talk about that quarrel when he came. Usually he would remember about what happened. This time he didn't blame me for anything, didn't ask me any questions, just wanted to make up.
Mr. Rankin. I understood that when you didn't make up he was quite disturbed and you were still angry, is that right?
Mrs. Oswald. I wasn't really very angry. I, of course, wanted to make up with him. But I gave the appearance of being very angry. I was smiling inside, but I had a serious expression on my face.
Mr. Rankin. And as a result of that, did he seem to be more disturbed than usual?
Mrs. Oswald. As always, as usual. Perhaps a little more. At least when he went to bed he was very upset.
Mr. Rankin. Do you think that had anything to do with the assassination the next day?
Mrs. Oswald. Perhaps he was thinking about all of that. I don't think that he was asleep. Because, in the morning when the alarm clock went off he hadn't woken up as usual before the alarm went off, and I thought that he probably had fallen asleep very late. At least then I didn't think about it. Now I think so.
Mr. Rankin. When he said he would not be home that Friday evening, did you ask him why?
Mrs. Oswald. Yes.
Mr. Rankin. What did he say?
Mrs. Oswald. He said that since he was home on Thursday, that it wouldn't make any sense to come again on Friday, that he would come for the weekend.
Mr. Rankin. Did that cause you to think that he had any special plans to do anything?
Mrs. Oswald. No.
Mr. Rankin. Did you usually keep a wallet with money in it at the Paines?
Mrs. Oswald. Yes, in my room at Ruth Paine's there was a black wallet in a wardrobe. Whenever Lee would come he would put money in there, but I never counted it.
Mr. Rankin. On the evening of November 21st, do you know how much was in the wallet?
Mrs. Oswald. No. One detail that I remember was that he had asked me whether I had bought some shoes for myself, and I said no, that I hadn't had any time. He asked me whether June needed anything and told me to buy everything that I needed for myself and for June—and for the children.
This was rather unusual for him, that he would mention that first.
Mr. Rankin. Did he take the money from the wallet from time to time?
Mrs. Oswald. No, he generally kept the amount that he needed and put the rest in the wallet.
I know that the money that was found there, that you think this was not Lee's money. But I know for sure that this was money that he had earned. He had some money left after his trip to Mexico. Then we received an unemployment compensation check for $33. And then Lee paid only $7 or $8 for his room. And I know how he eats, very little.
Mr. Rankin. Do you know what his ordinary lunch was?
Mrs. Oswald. Peanut butter sandwich, cheese sandwich, some lettuce, and he would buy himself a hamburger, something else, a coke.
Mr. Rankin. And what about his evening meal? Do you know what he ate in the evening meal?
Mrs. Oswald. Usually meat, vegetables, fruit, dessert.
Mr. Rankin. Where would he have that?
Mrs. Oswald. He loved bananas. They were inexpensive.
The place where he rented a room, he could not cook there. He said that there was some sort of a cafe across the street and that he ate there.
Mr. Rankin. Did he ever tell you what he paid for his evening meal?
Mrs. Oswald. About a dollar, $1.30.
Mr. Rankin. What about his breakfast? Do you know what he had for breakfast ordinarily?
Mrs. Oswald. He never had breakfast. He just drank coffee and that is all.
Not because he was trying to economize. Simply he never liked to eat.
Mr. Rankin. Mr. Reporter, will you note the presence of Mr. Ruben Efron in the hearing room. He also knows Russian.
On November 21, the day before the assassination that you were describing, was there any discussion between you and your husband about President Kennedy's trip or proposed trip to Texas, Dallas and the Fort Worth area?
Mrs. Oswald. I asked Lee whether he knew where the President would speak, and told him that I would very much like to hear