When I was a little girl, my sister, cousins and I would have contests to see who could hold-on the longest to the electric fence that lined the fields of my grandma's Greene County farm.

I always lost. One touch and I immediately understood why the cows stayed away. They fear it. I don't even think my grandma turns on the electricity anymore.

I bring this up, because it is the closest thing I can think of to describe what it feels like to get shocked by the most-prized heirloom in the saint-in-my-life's family "The Shocking Machine."

I've written about this before. If you are too slammed to check out this link, just know that:

1. It is a medieval device built by his grandfather.
2. It sends out a pretty strong electric current.
3. It is a Christmas party favorite.

Now he wants to build another one as a project with his oldest son. So on Sunday morning, he sat down at his parents' kitchen table in Rochester, N.Y. and pulled out "The Shocking Machine."

He drew diagrams. He took pictures. And I have no doubt that he will be able to recreate it. The brilliance gene runs strong in his pool.

"Why don't you just take it home with you?" his dad asked.

"No, I couldn't," he said, it was too much responsibility. If he lost it, he explained, he would have to move to a country where no family member could find him.

While he worked, I read the Sunday New York Times. There I read this story by Kirk Johnson about a kid from Green River, Utah who is going to Washington D.C. at the end of this month. The story hooked me from its very beginning.

"Kunal Sah, a 13-year-old eighth-grader, is an angry speller."

It went on to describe how Kunal is living with his aunt and uncle at the Ramada Limited Motel which was formerly run by his parents. His parents were sent back to India after being denied political asylum. The reason his parents were denied political asylum after submitting their application is complicated. What I wonder is, why did it take the United States government 17 years to issue their denial resulting in them being shipped back to India? That was enough time for his parents to build a business, to have a son who is a citizen by his birth and who turned into a champion speller.

So now, Kunal wants to win as much for himself but even more to draw attention to his parents' plight. On May 30, he will take the stage for the two-day competition. He will likely be nervous, sweating and indistinguishable from all the other children on stage.