Hot Times at the Old-and-Young Games at La Mesa Middle School

With a world-recording holding Paralympic long jumper giving a pep talk, some 200 youngsters and over-50 ladies and gents joined Thursday for the sixth annual East County Intergenerational Games at La Mesa Middle School, which was on a break. Elexis “Lex” Gillette, who turns 27 Wednesday, has been blind since elementary school but found his talent in track and field 10 years ago in high school.  An East Carolina University graduate in recreation management, he showed off a silver medal he won at the 2008 Beijing Paralympics (and told how he miscounted his steps to possibly lose gold). He also won silver at the 2004 Athens Paralympic Games and now trains at the Chula Vista Olympic Training Center for 2012 London.  Intergenerational Games veteran Bob Duff, the La Mesa-Spring Valley school board member, said he invited Gillette, who attends the same church.

After listening to a succession of speakers for 50 minutes—including county Supervisor Dianne Jacob and Army Staff Sgt. Paul Amora (a recruiter who was asked the maximum age for new soldiers)—the grade school-age kids finally paired up with older volunteers—boys with men and girls with women—and trooped off to the soccer field, where 13 stations awaited, including ones for sports trivia and photos, kicking footballs and soccer balls, playing hoops and Frisbee—and ignoring temperatures in the 90s.