Jim McCue - 20 Years Later

First off, it’s nice that things got organized enough that we are having our 20-year reunion after 20 years. Always found it amusing that we waited 12 years to pull together the 10-year reunion.
Anyway, the 20 years that have passed have been full of partying, studying, working, parenting, and facing challenges. To start, I left the Valley and ventured all the way to Malibu to spend four years of school at the beach. I earned my degree in Telecommunications (Broadcasting) with the thought that I would move quickly on to a job in television. As it turns out, getting work in television took more than just sending out resume tapes to small markets all over the country. After calling all parts of the country in search of just an opening, the only opportunity was a weekend sports job in Bakersfield – and my resume tape was just one of more than 100 applicants…for a job in BAKERSFIELD!

Jim and Zach at Sea World (July 2007)

In need of cash to support my desire to continue my college consumption habits, I turned to sportswriting and banking. I covered prep sports for the Orange County Register and then the Contra Costa Times for a number of years and moved around the Bay Area while I was with the Times. I also had the opportunity to cover a handful of A’s and Giants games as well as a couple of Niners practices during the summers. Everything that has been said about Barry Bonds (re: attitude toward the media and general mood) is all true. He is perhaps the biggest a—hole I have ever met.

One of the reasons for moving North was my wife, Tricia. We met through Brian Altman as she and Brian both worked for Intel in Folsom. She later took a job with Intel in Santa Clara and we moved to various locations before finally moving in together in Fremont a year before we got married. Tired of working late nights (sports shifts usually go from 3-11 PM) and getting paid very little, I found/created a new position of media relations director for the California League of Professional Baseball in 1995. It allowed me the opportunity to work semi-regular hours, watch lots of baseball, and to travel to exotic locations like Rancho Cucamonga, Lake Elsinore, Visalia, and Stockton. I did get to travel to Durham, NC as part of the California League contingent at the annual California-Carolina League All-Star Game.

Jim and Nathan at Mission Beach, San Diego (July 2007)

Eventually, Tricia and I decided that we were ready to become homeowners, so we looked outside of the Bay Area (we wanted something more than an 800 square foot shack which was all we could afford in the Bay Area). Tricia took a job back in Folsom, I returned to sportswriting with the Auburn Journal, and we moved into our first home in Folsom in 1998.

Madison at SD Zoo (July 2007)

I again tired of the hours and crap pay of sportswriting and began what has been an 8-year stint in marketing in the environmental consulting industry. I currently work for a firm called EDAW, which is headquartered in San Francisco and has more than 30 international offices.

On the family front, we had out first child, Madison, in 2001 and she will start first grade in a week. She is a constant blur of energy and tries to entertain anyone and everyone that comes across her path. After much work, we had our second child in 2005. Nathan is now 2 ½ and has been our greatest blessing and challenge. After about 2 months, we thought that he was not hitting his milestones, so we started to look into what might be wrong. Long story short – Nathan has severe neurological issues due to the fact that his brain did not properly develop prior to birth. He has global developmental delays, cerebral palsy, and a seizure disorder, to name just a few of his challenges. He is a small boy for his age, but he is essentially a 2-year-old with the physical and mental aptitude of a 3-6 month old. It has been a very trying challenge, but also a truly strengthening experience for our entire family (if you are interested in any further information about our family and Nathan’s issues, in particular, feel free to visit our blog at http://mccue-folsom.blogspot.com/).

Eventually and somewhat miraculously, we had our third and final child, Zachary, in August 2006. Our greatest fear was that Nathan’s condition may have been genetic (even though all tests said otherwise), so we were both thrilled and scared throughout the entire pregnancy. Today, he is a thriving, energetic baby boy that we can hardly keep up with.

Jim and Tricia at Disneyland (December 2005)

We still enjoy getting out to travel and have made several trips to Southern California for the kids to enjoy Disneyland and San Diego and we occasionally make it to Indiana to visit Tricia’s family.

These days, I find myself working and trying to keep up with the kids. I do enjoy beer league softball once a week (Altman has been a teammate for the last 8 years or so) and an occasional round of golf, but family and work consume most of my time. I am planning to attend the reunion (I will get the registration stuff done as soon as I have a minute, Lisa Macias) and look forward to seeing the people and campus since I have not been back to Chaminade for at least 16-18 years.