Articles by Mary York

I was rolling a number two pencil between the rivets in our tiled kitchen counter when the World Trade Centers went down. I was nine years old.

Still in pajamas, I barely understood what was going on, but I registered the anxiety in my dad’s voice when he burst through the kitchen door, having only just left for work minutes earlier, telling mom to turn the radio on. It was already blaring the devastating news.

Fifteen minutes out from Downtown El Cajon, along dusty Olde Highway 80, in what used to be the Flinn Springs Inn, a new establishment is joining the neighborhood – namely, traditional Texas-style barbecue.

“I’ve spent every summer of my life, practically, in Texas – I’m constantly eating that kind of BBQ and I really feel it is superior,” said Andy Harris, La Mesa resident and owner of Grand Ole BBQ y Asado in North Park. “I’m the only one doing it and North Park has sold out almost every day for three years.”

Nolan Smith and Nolan Johnson could not be more different. Smith, tall and thin, is musically inclined and good with kids. Johnson, a thickly built gentle giant and Pop Warner football player, is just a kid himself.

But they have both found a home at Momentum Tutoring.

Johnson has been at Momentum for several years now. The soon-to-be ninth grader who takes special education classes at school approached his mom after struggling with his grades and asked for tutoring.

Tucked in a corner of downtown El Cajon is an art gallery and workshop. The colorful displays and lively activity that can be glimpsed through the large glass windows at the front of the store only tell part of the magnificent story that is the St. Madeleine Sophie’s Center.

The center provides programs and activities for nearly 400 adults with developmental disabilities from all around San Diego – everything from swim teams to art classes, like print making, mosaics and silk screening.