I'll go ahead and confirm/answer my own above-asked question re. a
first-floor soda machine in the TSBD.

Vince Bugliosi, as usual, is 100% correct. A Dr. Pepper machine was
located on the first floor. A Coke machine was in the 2nd-Floor
lunchroom. So there were definitely TWO soda machines in the TSBD on
11/22/63.

I don't think I've ever heard the common-sense argument made by Vince
Bugliosi being made by anyone else. I certainly didn't think of it.
I.E., Oswald's preferred beverage was available on the first floor;
therefore, why the need to go UPSTAIRS to the 2nd Floor to get a soft
drink there (which is what he told police at one point after his
arrest)?

And the Dr. Pepper machine was positively in working order on 11/22,
too. How do we know? Because Bonnie Ray Williams testified he bought a
Dr. Pepper from the "Dr. Pepper machine" just before he went up to the
sixth floor to eat his lunch. (The empty Dr. Pepper bottle was left by
Williams on the 6th Floor by Williams as well.)

I think some of the confusion surrounding the soda-pop machines comes
from the witness testimony given by the TSBD employees. Virtually all
of them testified that they went "up to the second floor" to buy their
soft drinks ("Cokes") on 11/22. Billy Lovelady said that he did
that...and he said he came back down to the first floor after getting
his "Coke".

Wesley Frazier testified in some detail about "soft drinks". But his
testimony, too, is rather murky about there being ANY pop machine on
the FIRST floor at all. In fact, to hear Frazier tell it, the
employees had to go to the SECOND-floor lunchroom to get "different
kinds of soft drinks".

But when searching through the witness testimony, I hit soda-pop
paydirt with the testimony of James Jarman. Jarman's WC testimony
verifies, beyond all doubt, that a "Dr. Pepper machine" was located on
the FIRST FLOOR of the Book Depository on the day of President
Kennedy's assassination. Let's have a look.....

Mr. BALL - You say you wandered around, you mean on the first floor?

Mr. JARMAN - On the first floor.

Mr. BALL - Were you with anybody when you were at the window? Did you
talk to anybody?

Mr. JARMAN - No; I did not.

Mr. BALL - Were you with anybody when you were walking around
finishing your sandwich?

Mr. JARMAN - No; I wasn't, I was trying to get through so I could get
out on the street.

Mr. BALL - Did you see Lee Oswald?

Mr. JARMAN - No; I didn't.

Mr. BALL - After his arrest, he stated to a police officer that he had
had lunch with you. Did you have lunch with him?

Mr. JARMAN - No, sir; I didn't.

Mr. BALL - When you finished your sandwich and your bottle of pop,
what did you do?

Mr. JARMAN - I throwed the paper that I had the sandwich in in the box
over close to the telephone and I took the pop bottle and put it in
the case over by the Dr. Pepper machine.