Whether in fact or fiction, miracles happen because one makes a leap of faith. Carl Kegerreis, in his astoundingly remarkable work of fiction, I Wish I Had Those Gasoline Pellets, turns the world on its head with a storyline based on self-reproducing gasoline pellets that synthesize water into gasoline. With the supply of natural gas held hostage by tragic events in Ukraine and the price of crude oil in the global market skyrocketing, the world could benefit from such a miracle.
Unfortunately, as the author himself apologetically declared in the preface, a work of wonder in the guise of gasoline pellets can only be found in books or inside the author’s colorful imagination. Or does it?
Humankind has always relied on miracles. There is always that underlying belief that a miracle is bound to happen soon. Like Russia will suddenly decide to pull out of Ukraine and that part of the world goes back to normal. A happenstance like that will mean that we will no longer need to pull a rabbit out of a hat or gasoline pellets to solve our energy woes. The author, Carl Kegerreis, had such a momentous event in his life when his wife and the book’s inspiration fell prey to the dreaded Alzheimer’s disease, an illness that requires a miracle because there is no known cure. With an estimated 5.8 million Americans over the age of 65 caught in its wicked grasp in 2020, it is a wonder in itself that no cure has been found since the German neuropsychiatrist, Dr. Alois Alzheimer, first declared its existence more than a century ago.
Like two peas out of the same pod, gasoline pellets and Alzheimer’s disease both need a miracle. It is toward this end that Carl Kegerreis is directing his attention to funding research and efforts to stamp out the disease. Like the ever-hopeful Lilly in his book, it is never really too late to expect a miracle.
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