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

What Separates a Hero from a Mere Mortal?

Ace fighter pilot, Captain Oley Washington Jr. confidently guides his warplane into the teeth of danger.

As a scarred veteran of the Vietnam War, flying into enemy territory, with the constant threat of being shot down by buzzing anti-aircraft guns and rockets, no longer daunts him. It is a fact of life. When an enemy rocket hits his aircraft, the prospect of being captured by the enemy looms large on the horizon as he ejects and parachutes away from the burning plane. 

A painful capture

Hobbled by a broken leg upon landing, the hard and woody ground offers him scant protection. He scrambles to hide beneath a fallen tree while enemy soldiers, who pinpointed his location because of his parachute, scoured the jungle. He manages to call for help using his emergency radio. The extraction fails because the enemy sees the rescue helicopter and mercilessly brings it down. The slight hope that Captain Washington nurtured that he can evade capture by the enemy is slowly slipping away from his grasp. He fights back with all the energy he can muster but the enemy surrounds and subdues him. A miserable life or death in a prison camp awaits him.

A hero prevails

Carl Kegerreis’ I Wish I Had Those Gasoline Pellets begins with an exciting tale of the exploits of Captain Oley Washington, Jr., the heroic fighter pilot. His capture at enemy hands could have easily thrown him into a fit of despondency and apathy at the hopelessness of it all. Instead, he is still able to find the courage to face his incarceration. With an iron will and indomitable spirit, he manages to craft an escape plan along with other prisoners. The adage that one can never put a good man down is proven to be true in this novel.

by Carl Kegerreis

The Interesting Life of a Retired FBI Agent

The rising prices of gasoline, a pellet that transforms water into gasoline, and an ominous plot to keep the knowledge of and use of the pellets to a select few are the challenges that retired FBI agent Haywood Runyan and his beautiful wife, Lilly, must navigate in Carl Kagerreis’ stunning work of fiction, I Wish I Had Those Gasoline Pellets. Viewed against the backdrop of runaway fuel prices in the US and most places of the globe, the novel is almost too prophetic to be ignored. At the same time, the down-to-earth characterizations of Haywood and Lilly resonate with readers who, at one time or another, spent their lives as ordinary working men and women.

Life After a Stint at the FBI

Haywood Runyan is not the typical FBI retiree. Instead of calmly enjoying the bliss of being put out to pasture, he goes out of his way to look for exciting things to do-the more exotic the concept, the better. He is encouraged to do so by Lilly, his charming wife, who supports him through thick and thin. It leads them to Captain Oley Washington, Jr., a war hero who possesses a mind-blowing and long-held secret that can change the world. For Haywood and Lilly, their involvement with Oley unwittingly turns retirement into endless excitement.

Dealing with Conspiracies and Demagogues

The green pellets that Oley keeps with him turn out to be a revolutionary wonder, a literal philosopher’s stone that converts ordinary water into gasoline in the blink of an eye. For the common man, it is the answer to a prayer. He would not become a slave, anymore, to prohibitive gasoline prices. The discovery, however, attracts the unwarranted attention of demagogues, like King Hassmen Tavio of the Saudi Oil Cartel, who would go to any length to preserve their control of the world’s energy sources. Life has suddenly become more complicated for Oley, Haywood, and Lilly.  

by Carl Kegerreis