Lawson's Competitive Week

This week was Catholic Schools Week in the Diocese of Savannah, and Lawson celebrated it by competing with both mind and body.

Saturday, he participated in the free throw contest, sponsored by the St. Peter the Apostle chapter of the Knights of Columbus. While Lawson demonstrated much skill, the ball did not cooperate, bouncing all around the basket, but only agreeing to go in it a few times. Still we're proud of his spirit and good sportsmanship.

Then today, he represented the whole sixth grade of St. Peter the Apostle School in the Deanery Spelling Bee, making it all the way to round four before erring with the word monstrosity.

Actually, I thought Lawson was taking me up on a pre-bee bribe. After watching a number of spelling bees, I've always been amused at how kids calmed themselves by asking a series of questions: "What's the part of speech?" "What's the definition?" "Can you please use it in a sentence?" So I told Lawson I'd pay him ten dollars if, when presented with an impossible word, to ask all of the above questions and then follow it with, "How do you spell it?"

I just wanted to see what the judges would say if that happened.

Anyway, when Lawson got to round four, the priest (I'll just call him Father Gabe) gave him his word, and Lawson asked for the definition. With my video camera focused right on him, I thought, Here he goes.

But at the last minute, Lawson thought, I can spell this word. And he did. Just incorrectly.





Ironically, toward the end of the spelling bee, Father Gabe did mispronounce several words, to the extent that the remaining contestants began to ask, "Is there another pronunciation?" or they would ask Father to repeat the word several times. Eventually, one of the last two contestants got the word virulent. Two or three times, the boy asked Father Gabe to repeat the word, and at the fourth request, Father Gabe replied, "Virulent. V-i-r..."

I wonder if that kid's mom gave him ten bucks.