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.
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