Mrs. Oswald.

Yes. I asked him why. But this time he was preparing to go to Cuba.

Mr. Rankin.

That was his explanation for practicing with the rifle?

Mrs. Oswald.

Yes. He said that he would, go to Cuba. I told him I was not going with him---that I would stay here.

Mr. Rankin.

On these occasions when he was practicing with the rifle, would they be three or four times a week in the evening, after the Fair Play for Cuba incident?

Mrs. Oswald.

Almost every evening. He very much wanted to go to Cuba and have the newspapers write that somebody had kidnaped an aircraft. And I asked him "For God sakes, don't do such a thing."

Mr. Rankin.

Did he describe that idea to you?

Mrs. Oswald.

Yes.

Mr. Rankin.

And when he told you of it, did he indicate that he wanted to be the one that would kidnap the airplane himself?

Mrs. Oswald.

Yes, he wanted to do that. And he asked me that I should help him with that. But I told him I would not touch that rifle. This sounds very merry, but I am very much ashamed of it.

Mr. Rankin.

Did you tell him that using the rifle in this way, talking about it, was not in accordance with his agreement with you?

Mrs. Oswald.

Yes.

Mr. Rankin.

What did he say about that?

Mrs. Oswald.

He said that everything would go well. He was very self-reliant---if I didn't want to.

Mr. Rankin.

Was there any talk of divorce during this period?

Mrs. Oswald.

No. During this time, we got along pretty well not counting the incidents with Cuba. I say relatively well, because we did not really have generally he helped me quite a bit and was good to me. But, of course, I did not agree with his views.

Mr. Rankin.

At this time in New Orleans did he discuss with you his views?

Mrs. Oswald.

Yes.

Mr. Rankin.

What did he say about that?

Mrs. Oswald.

Mostly---most of the conversations were on the subject of Cuba.

Mr. Rankin.

Was there anything said about the United States--not liking the United States.

Mrs. Oswald.

No. I can't say---he liked some things in Russia, he liked. some other things here, didn't like some things there, and didn't like some things here.
And I am convinced that as much as he knew about Cuba, all he knew was from books and so on. He wanted to convince himself. But I am sure that if he had gone there, he would not have liked it there, either. Only on the moon, perhaps.

Mr. Rankin.

Did he tell you what he didn't like about the United States?

Mrs. Oswald.

First of all, he didn't like the fact that there are fascist organizations here. That was one thing. The second thing, that it was hard to get an education and hard to find work. And that medical expenses were very high.

Mr. Rankin.

Did he say who he blamed for this?

Mrs. Oswald.

He didn't blame anyone.

Mr. Rankin.

Did he ever say anything about President Kennedy?

Mrs. Oswald.

No. At least---I was always interested in President Kennedy and had asked him many times to translate articles in a newspaper or magazine for me, and he always had something good to say. He translated it, but never did comment on it. At least in Lee's behavior---from Lee's behavior I cannot conclude that he was against the President, and therefore the thing is incomprehensible to me. Perhaps he hid it from me. I don't know. He said that after 20 years he would be prime minister. I think that he had a sick imagination---at least at that time I already considered him to be not quite normal--not always, but at times. I always tried to point out to him that he was a man like any others who were around us. But he simply could not understand that.
I tried to tell him that it would be better to direct his energies to some more practical matters, and not something like that.