Oswald's cash

[Lance Payette]

These are the kind of weird little details that drive me nuts ...

Bill Brown posted at the Ed Forum today a nice analysis of the possibility that Oswald was planning to catch a bus to Laredo (and then on to Mexico) after the JFKA: https://educationforum.ipbhost.com/topic/31665-david-belin-papers-dallas-city-greyhound-bus-routes-dallas-to-mexico/.

I quote: "Oswald had $13.87 on him when he was arrested.  One could get from Dallas to Laredo for $12.80." He thus had enough for the ticket, a Coke and a bag of Fritos, but not much more.

He gave McWatters 23 cents for bus fare and Whaley $1 for the taxi ride, so that brings him up to $15.10 when he left the TSBD, assuming he didn't get additional funds during his pit stop at the rooming house.

But wait, he left at least $170 for Marina when he left the Paine house that morning. (Many sources say $187. Some say he left it in a wallet on the dresser, others - including Marina - that it was in a wallet used for savings purposes in a dresser drawer. The WR says $170 in a wallet in the dresser drawer, so we'll go with that.)

He didn't leave her $100 and take a more plausible $85.10 for himself or even $150 for her and a more reasonable $35.10 for himself.

What does this tell us, if anything?

If the wallet was used for savings purposes and in a drawer, did Oswald simply forget about it? It's just a red herring? He did tell Marina to buy shoes for Junie and whatever else was needed, so it would seem he didn't simply forget about it.

If the JFKA was basically a suicide mission and he expected to be killed or arrested, why did he need $15.10 at all? (Marina suggested he had $15 when he left, so this meshes nicely with what he actually had. Perhaps he had another nickel or dime and did buy a Coke in the TSBD.)

If he thought he'd be taken care of by accomplices, why did he need $15.10? Was he going to be taken care of after he reached Laredo and knew $15.10 would just cover the cost of the getting to the rooming house and on to Laredo? Would he really cut things that close, leaving himself only a $1.07 margin of error by the time he left the rooming house?

Was the JFKA just such a slapdash, unplanned project that he just happened to have $15.10 when he left the Paine house that morning, he gave no thought to anything but shooting JFK, and that's just all there is to it? He had no plan at all when he encountered Tippit?

I lean toward the latter - he was astounded to walk out of the TSBD, just happened to have $15.10 on him, and had no plan at all as he walked along Tenth Street. If there were anything resembling a plan in advance of the JFKA, I have to believe he'd have taken more than $15.10 when he left the Paine house. After he left the rooming house, I suppose it's possible he may have wondered "How far from here can I get on $13.87?" if you want to call that a plan.

[Charles Collins]

These are the kind of weird little details that drive me nuts ...

Bill Brown posted at the Ed Forum today a nice analysis of the possibility that Oswald was planning to catch a bus to Laredo (and then on to Mexico) after the JFKA: https://educationforum.ipbhost.com/topic/31665-david-belin-papers-dallas-city-greyhound-bus-routes-dallas-to-mexico/.

I quote: "Oswald had $13.87 on him when he was arrested.  One could get from Dallas to Laredo for $12.80." He thus had enough for the ticket, a Coke and a bag of Fritos, but not much more.

He gave McWatters 23 cents for bus fare and Whaley $1 for the taxi ride, so that brings him up to $15.10 when he left the TSBD, assuming he didn't get additional funds during his pit stop at the rooming house.

But wait, he left at least $170 for Marina when he left the Paine house that morning. (Many sources say $187. Some say he left it in a wallet on the dresser, others - including Marina - that it was in a wallet used for savings purposes in a dresser drawer. The WR says $170 in a wallet in the dresser drawer, so we'll go with that.)

He didn't leave her $100 and take a more plausible $85.10 for himself or even $150 for her and a more reasonable $35.10 for himself.

What does this tell us, if anything?

If the wallet was used for savings purposes and in a drawer, did Oswald simply forget about it? It's just a red herring? He did tell Marina to buy shoes for Junie and whatever else was needed, so it would seem he didn't simply forget about it.

If the JFKA was basically a suicide mission and he expected to be killed or arrested, why did he need $15.10 at all? (Marina suggested he had $15 when he left, so this meshes nicely with what he actually had. Perhaps he had another nickel or dime and did buy a Coke in the TSBD.)

If he thought he'd be taken care of by accomplices, why did he need $15.10? Was he going to be taken care of after he reached Laredo and knew $15.10 would just cover the cost of the getting to the rooming house and on to Laredo? Would he really cut things that close, leaving himself only a $1.07 margin of error by the time he left the rooming house?

Was the JFKA just such a slapdash, unplanned project that he just happened to have $15.10 when he left the Paine house that morning, he gave no thought to anything but shooting JFK, and that's just all there is to it? He had no plan at all when he encountered Tippit?

I lean toward the latter - he was astounded to walk out of the TSBD, just happened to have $15.10 on him, and had no plan at all as he walked along Tenth Street. If there were anything resembling a plan in advance of the JFKA, I have to believe he'd have taken more than $15.10 when he left the Paine house. After he left the rooming house, I suppose it's possible he may have wondered "How far from here can I get on $13.87?" if you want to call that a plan.

His very first actions were to get away from the TSBD and retrieve his revolver. He had apparently previously tried to get Marina to help him hijack a plane to Cuba. Need I say anything more?

P.S.   I think the amount of money he had on him at the time of arrest was probably just coincidence and not due to any planning at all.

[Lance Payette]

I really think some of these seemingly piddly details offer the biggest clues.

On the morning of 11-22, Oswald heads off on what promises to be rather a busy day with potentially lots of unexpected twists and turns. He starts off with a mere $15 in his wallet, leaving $170 behind. He leaves the scene of the crime with no more plan than walking out the door, hopping a bus, exiting the bus and hailing a taxi. He has to go to his rooming house to get his revolver, which he easily could have brought to the TSBD when he went to work on 11-21. His next move is to stroll down 10th Street a couple of miles from the TSBD.

This all seems to me virtually impossible to square with an assassination conspiracy. Not even minimal preplanning or any post-assassination plan. Nothing suggesting accomplices. It pretty much screams "last-minute decision with no real expectation of exiting the TSBD." I believe any post-assassination "plan," to use the term loosely, was probably formulated in Whaley's cab or still being hashed out in his mind as he walked along 10th Street.

[Charles Collins]

I really think some of these seemingly piddly details offer the biggest clues.

On the morning of 11-22, Oswald heads off on what promises to be rather a busy day with potentially lots of unexpected twists and turns. He starts off with a mere $15 in his wallet, leaving $170 behind. He leaves the scene of the crime with no more plan than walking out the door, hopping a bus, exiting the bus and hailing a taxi. He has to go to his rooming house to get his revolver, which he easily could have brought to the TSBD when he went to work on 11-21. His next move is to stroll down 10th Street a couple of miles from the TSBD.

This all seems to me virtually impossible to square with an assassination conspiracy. Not even minimal preplanning or any post-assassination plan. Nothing suggesting accomplices. It pretty much screams "last-minute decision with no real expectation of exiting the TSBD." I believe any post-assassination "plan," to use the term loosely, was probably formulated in Whaley's cab or still being hashed out in his mind as he walked along 10th Street.

It appears to me that LHO believed his revolver was more important to him than his money. He was a meticulous planner if he had enough time. So, it seems to me that he probably did consider what he might do if he managed to escape the TSBD. LHO probably realized that he would soon be the most wanted man in the world. And that his chances of making it very far were minimal. Of course that wouldn’t prevent him from trying. Marina said that LHO laughed at the reports in the news of the police activities and suspicions after the Walker attempt because the police apparently assumed the Walker shooter escaped via automobile. And LHO simply left on foot and took the bus.

One thought I have had regarding the bus is that if traffic hadn’t held the bus up and LHO had remained on the bus, he would have ridden right past the TSBD. It’s reportedly not uncommon for criminals to go by the scenes of their crimes shortly afterwards. And so I wonder if LHO rode a bus right by the Walker residence shortly afterwards. Just a thought.

While we are speculating, I have posted this before and Bill Brown commented that these are fair points. If Dale Myers is correct about LHO being seen walking west on Tenth Street, the cab parked on the corner would have been prominent in his view. I think it is possible LHO was hurrying towards it and possibly waving an arm to hail the cab. If Tippit appeared at that same point in time, Tippit might have thought LHO was waving for Tippit to stop. Just another thought.

I think Mexico and Cuba probably were LHO’s goal. But I think LHO probably knew his chances of getting there were slim and none. Hence his revolver was more important to him than his money. And I wouldn’t be surprised if LHO wanted to go out with a big bang. Hence he drew his revolver in the Texas Theater on the cops.

[Tom Graves]

I really think some of these seemingly piddly details offer the biggest clues.

On the morning of 11-22, Oswald heads off on what promises to be rather a busy day with potentially lots of unexpected twists and turns. He starts off with a mere $15 in his wallet, leaving $170 behind. He leaves the scene of the crime with no more plan than walking out the door, hopping a bus, exiting the bus and hailing a taxi. He has to go to his rooming house to get his revolver, which he easily could have brought to the TSBD when he went to work on 11-21. His next move is to stroll down 10th Street a couple of miles from the TSBD.

This all seems to me virtually impossible to square with an assassination conspiracy. Not even minimal preplanning or any post-assassination plan. Nothing suggesting accomplices. It pretty much screams "last-minute decision with no real expectation of exiting the TSBD." I believe any post-assassination "plan," to use the term loosely, was probably formulated in Whaley's cab or still being hashed out in his mind as he walked along 10th Street.

FPL,

How much is his $15 in today's dollars?

[Charles Collins]

FPL,

How much is his $15 in today's dollars?

$157 plus some change

[Tom Graves]

$157 plus some change

I know inflation is pretty bad and it's gonna get a lot worse with The Traitorous Orange Bird's (rhymes with Xxxx's) tariffs going into effect, but that's still more than enough these days for someone like the little self-described Marxist and former sharpshooting Marine to buy, ahead-of-time in the second-floor lunchroom, a bottle of his second-choice soft drink (Coke-Cola, instead of Dr. Pepper which he could have bought from the Dr. Pepper machine on the first floor) to use as a prop with Truly, Officer Baker, and Mrs. Reid after he'd killed JFK and just barely squeaked into said lunchroom before Truly, followed by Baker, arrived on said floor.