The Miracle of Water and Gasoline

It started as an ordinary Sunday for Father Pario, the priest at St. Reba Church. 

After uttering a benediction over his congregation, he approached the ancient baptismal font adorned with the image of an angel and proceeded to complete baptism rites. After the act was completed, he continued saying mass. It was then that the unexpected happened. The water from the font turned into gasoline.

Gasoline as a Blessing in Disguise

As the strong odor of gasoline permeated the insides of the church, Father Pario’s innate common sense kicked into gear. It was true that he was unable to explain why gasoline instead of water was gushing forth from the baptismal font but he and his parishioners could make certainly use of it. The price of gasoline was at an all-time high. A confluence of geopolitical events around the world was leading to a shortage in the gasoline supply and driving up prices. Consumers, including his parishioners at St. Reba, were feeling the brunt. Gathering his wits about him, he instructed his flock to line up to begin extracting gasoline from the fount.

The FBI and the Mysterious Red

The cavalry, led by the FBI, came in without a preamble. It was a sensational discovery, after all. If it was true that water did indeed turn into gasoline at the baptismal font, finding out why it happened could change the trajectory of the world’s energy industry. Not only the US government will be interested but every energy-producing country in the world, including the Saudi oil cartel. Father Pario did remember something strange. Before the gasoline incident, he had come into contact with a neighborhood drifter named Red. It was Red who gave him some jellybean-like green pellets. Could Red be the missing link to the mystery?

Carl Kegerreis and His Gasoline Pellets

Gasoline pellets that can solve the world’s energy needs serve as a fascinating premise to Carl Kegerreis’ I Wish I Had Those Gasoline Pellets. The book was borne out of a desire to honor the memory of his late wife who passed away due to Alzheimer’s disease. With a mind-bending plot that keeps readers tied to the edge of their seats, Carl Kegerreis has made this book one worth remembering.  

The Dangers of Gasoline

The discovery of gasoline flowing from the baptismal font of St. Reba’s Church in Detroit started an ominous chain of events. Unbeknown to the FBI and other government representatives who came in droves to confirm the veracity of the event, Government Energy Commissioner Kyle Hampter had a secured hotline to Lester King, the owner of East and West Coast Global Oil Industries. Lester King did not take the news kindly. He knew that it was a problem that had to be nipped in the bud.

Lester King’s dilemma

A scientific breakthrough that can change water into gasoline will help make the US and other countries independent of their reliance on foreign oil. 

It could bring down the price of oil in the world market to levels that have not been plumbed before. Lester King realized that it could ruin his business and that of oil-producing countries like the Saudi oil cartel. He instructed Kyle Hampter to be his mole inside the government to find out who was responsible for finding the formula to convert water to gasoline. A few days later, Hampter reported to King that a Vietnam war hero, Captain Oley Washington Jr., who had amnesia and was missing for several years has been found. Captain Washington was directly linked to St. Reba.

A Conspiracy That Goes a Long Way

It was not only Lester King that was wary of the new discovery. High up in the organization is his friend and leader of the Saudi Arabian Royal Oil Empire, King Hassmen Tavio. If the US government gets its hand on the material that can transform water into gasoline, it would stop buying Saudi oil which would be a catastrophic event. It was vital to him that it should be prevented at all costs.

Carl Kegerreis and his Handiwork

Sinister minds such as that of Lester King and King Hassmen Tavio are at the center of the struggle in Carl Kegerreis’ I Wish I Had Those Gasoline Pellets. Heroes, like the character Oley Washington Jr. who lost his memory, are up to the task to foil their evil designs. The author, Carl Kegerreis, drew parallels from his wife’s battle with Alzheimer’s disease when he made up the character of the long-suffering Captain Oley Washington. This exciting book is his tribute to the memory of his wife and to fund research about Alzheimer’s disease.

Standing Up and Making Amends

Lilly Runyan had insisted to her husband, Haywood Runyan, that she take him along with him when he goes back to St. Reba Church in Detroit to see Captain Oley Washington Jr. She can still remember clearly leaving him on the verge of death in a dark alley in the nation’s capital. That she was the one who called for the emergency services did not seem to matter anymore. She felt as responsible for his condition as the college war protesters who had beaten him and with whom she was accompanying. That he had lost his memory because of that tragic incident cut her to the core of her being. It was all so wrong. If she could somehow make amends to Captain Washington, it will, hopefully, assuage the guilt she had kept inside all these years.

The Man Who Lost His Memory

When Haywood had first met Captain Oley Washington Jr., he looked exactly the part of a man whose memory was yanked away from him-filthy and shaking in fear. With the help of Father Pario, Sister Martha, and Father Stevens, he was now washed, shaven, his hair trimmed, and wearing clean clothes. He was looking more civilized when Haywood returned to St. Reba Church with Lilly in tow. As if by a miracle, he suddenly recovered his lost memories when Lilly spoke to him. He had remembered how, like his guardian angel, she had tried to dissuade and stop the war protesters from hurting him more. Her presence had jolted his memory. Lilly broke down in tears. Her prayers have been answered. Oley’s life has been given back to him.

Carl Kegerreis’s Characters

When Carl Kegerreis’ wrote his book, I Wish I Had Those Gasoline Pellets, with Oley, Haywood, and Lilly as its main characters, he patterned Oley after himself, drawing on his experiences in the US Army. The sensitive but strong-willed Lilly personified his wife whom he loved dearly and who passed away in March 2021 after a bout with Alzheimer’s disease. There is no better way of immortalizing her memory than imbuing her with the character of Lilly.  

An Explanation for Stranger Things

The FBI is brought in to investigate cases of gasoline dumping in parking lots and dumpsters around Detroit, Michigan. So far, there have been no tangible leads that can turn the case around. Though it might be farfetched, the nation’s leading national security organization is working on the premise that a vagabond named Red could be involved. It was putting together eyewitness accounts at the sites.

The Incident at Trident Grocery

The owner of Trident Grocery Store, Mike Trident, made the connection to Red. He had heard someone or something moving about in the trash dumpster located at the back of the store. When he went out to investigate, he saw that it was Red, the homeless man, who was the source of the ruckus. He had entered the dumpster again to look for food. Feeling pity for the man, he had given him a package of raw meat. Red had handed over to him in return some green pellets which seemed to come from inside the dumpster and which Mike had unceremoniously tossed to the ground. Later, he discovered his parking lot brimming with gasoline.

Something Strange at Wesswell’s Gas Company

Wesswell’s Gas Company also reported Red’s run-in with one of their employees. Red was trying to drag out a small gas stove from the gas company’s dumpster when the employee discovered him in the middle of the act and berated him. Red, in his fright, drew some pellets from inside his pockets and offered them to the employee who had instantly thrown the pellets to the ground in disgust. It was on that same ground that the gasoline was strewn about.

A Similar Incident at Fred Roll’s Restaurant

The owner of Fred Roll’s Restaurant also reported that Red was at the restaurant when gasoline was found filling their dumpster and their parking lot. Red was also looking for food inside the dumpster a few moments before. He had provided Red with a paper bag containing salad, sandwiches, and lemonade to encourage him not to eat stale food from the dumpster. Without a second thought, Fred Roll had also thrown into the dumpster the pellets that Red gave him.

A Book of Strange Things

With a series of strange events related to finding gasoline inside dumpsters and store parking lots, Carl Kegerreis’ I Wish I Had Those Gasoline Pellets was off to the races. Stranger still was the plot twist that explained why gasoline turned up in those locations. Mystery lovers will find the book hard to put down.

Who Am I? Why Losing Memory is Hard

Carl Kegerreis, whose wife passed away due to Alzheimer’s disease, writes an uncanny and beguiling narrative about a man who lost his memory because of amnesia in I Wish I Had Those Gasoline Pellets. The author may have his wife at the back of his mind when he brought the character of Red to life. As a drifter who survives by climbing into and scouring for left-over food in the neighborhood dumpsters, Red is lucky to be alive. That the memory loss that took away more than ten years of his life was the aftermath of an ill-fated incident is tragic and sobering.

Twist Upon Twist, Tragedy Upon Tragedy

Red is not the scavenger that he purports to be. Underneath the rags and the filthy appearance is a decent man and a legitimate war hero who is a victim of unfortunate circumstances. He crashed during the Vietnam War and spent time in a squalid prison camp for prisoners of war. After masterminding an escape for himself and the other prisoners, he was brought back to the United States to be awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor, the most distinguished military award for bravery in combat. On his way to receive the award, he was set upon by a band of student war protesters. Beaten and kicked to the head, the injuries he suffered left him with amnesia. He has been wandering from place to place ever since after being given up for lost by his parents.

A Chance at Redemption

Red could have gone on to become a pillar of the US military if fate had not played a cruel trick on him on the day that he was to receive his medal. All is not lost, however. Kegerreis introduced the husband-and-wife tandem of Haywood and Lilly Runyan. Lilly Runyan resembles most and is closer in personality to Kegerreis’s beloved wife. In another serendipitous twist, Haywood and Lilly will become the key to Red’s redemption.

by Carl Kegerreis