Old and In the Way

Gary Sankary is a native of Stockton, California, now proud to call himself a Minnesotan for over 15 years. Married and the father of three children, this Twin Cities blogger writes about the fun of Middle Age and raising kids, with the occasional smattering of politics, music reviews, and Jewish topics in his OLD AND IN THE WAY blog. He writes mostly to amuse himself, but occasionally other people as well. Though he describes himself as “old, fat, and ugly,” his blog has been described as “Red Foreman meets Erma Bombeck” – a description that is all right by Gary! He says “I often give my kids sage and wise advice followed up by ‘dumbass.’”

What specifically drew you to blogging as your form of amusement?

Bottom line, I like to write. I like to talk actually but I’ve kind run out of people who like to listen, at least to me. By blogging I can ramble on about stuff and never know when people politely tune out and click off somewhere else.

I’m also somewhat prone to over sharing, both my own thoughts and stories about stuff that goes in my family. The family stories seem to get the best responses from folks and are typically pretty hilarious. I view life through a certain lens that says everything is funny in some way. I see it as my role to show others that same lens.

How or why did you choose the name OLD AND IN THE WAY?

I’m and old guy, 47 years old, past the half way point now, in the blogging/social media world I’m a dinosaur, around my office I’m getting to the point where I more in common with co-workers parents than with them. It also has a nice tie to the Grateful Dead, as do it. Old And IN The Way was the name of Jerry Garcia’s Bluegrass band , being a fan of bluegrass and of the Dead and since most days I actually feel sort of old and in the way, it fit.

Blogging is a big time commitment – what makes it worth it to you?

I spend too much time with family as it is, they appreciate that I have something to do other than ask them what they’re up to every 20 minutes. Really though, what has really made it so cool for me is the little community I’ve found in the blogsphere. I’ve made a few friends along the way, some local who I see all the time, some from around the world who I only know through the blog or Twitter and Facebook. Blogging has become a way to connect with them and a way to meet and learn and engage. It’s a very powerful medium.

I also like to write so it’s a nice place to keep my thoughts in one place where I can go back, and reference them when I forget stuff.

What is a mistake you’ve made with your blog? What did you learn from that mistake which other bloggers should know?

Two things drive success in the blogsphere, at least in my experience; frequency of posting and content. The more you post the more people you attract. I used to go up a week with out posting. Once I figured out the metric thing and could start tracking the numbers per day/hour/minute who were on the site I started to understand the direct relationship between frequency and hits.

One mistake that I continue to make, I underestimate the value of using “tags” on my posts. Lots of time I’ll just put one or two tags on an entry, and lots of time I leave the tags blank. Big mistake. By and large most of the new folks I’ve met and 100% of the times I’ve been “found” by third parties it’s been because they were searching on a given tag. My advice, over use tags, type in every one that comes to mind no matter what. The only “silly” tag I know off is the blank one.

Bloggers often draw inspiration from each other. What other blogs do you enjoy reading? Who are your favorite local Twin Cities bloggers?

My most favorite blogs are listed on my blog roll. Some notable ones;

The Idiot Speaketh- I was introduced to Mark and his wild blog about a year ago when someone suggested that I start reading it because “he writes just like you.” And while I’d be flattered to be compared to his blog, truth be told, we could have been separated from birth.

New Kid On The Blog- This one I found or he found me years ago. The author, The Rev. Alastair McCollum is an Anglican Priest in the UK. He once paid me one the nicest comments I’ve ever received on my blog. I like his writing for it’s intellectual challenge and the spiritual challenges.

Local blogs that I love-

Lazy Lightning. Bill Roehl is my hero. His blog gets more attention in 20 minutes than I get in a year and it’s well deserved. He writes well, has great credibility and successfully pokes people in the eye. His wife describes him as the “South Metro’s biggest pain the ass” and I’d concur.. in a good way. He’s also one of the other great Grateful Dead themed blogs out there.

Just One Year In Jerusalem. This is a new on for me. This is a Minnesota Native pursuing his Rabbincal studies, which require that this first year be spent at the Hebrew Union College in Jerusalem. Years ago, had I had it to do all over again, becoming a Rabbi might have been a good career option for me. Too bad I can’t learn foreign languages very well. I’m finding this blog fascinating and look forward to the posts.

There’s others listed, and they’re all good, these are just the ones that have been front and foremost in my mind.

You are a Californian transplant who has taken to Minnesota like a duck to water. What do you love the most about living in the Twin Cities / Minnesota and why?

I’m never all that happy no matter where I live, I like to complain a lot. Now that I’ve lived in the Twin Cities for the last 15 years I truly consider this area to be home. My kids have grown up here, my career has been here, California has become more of memory than a reality for me and I’ve never missed. Except, and this was the only time, when the Giants won the World Series this year, then I had some tangs of homesickness, mostly because I’ve really not been back to California since we moved here.

I love the Twin Cities. As much I like to think otherwise, really I’m an urban guy. I like living in Cities and taking advantage of all that cities have to offer; cultural events, dining, sports teams, good newspapers, and the chance to interact with the educated. But, I also enjoy the idea of small town connections and I love the outdoors. The Twin Cities really offers the best of mix of both worlds of anywhere I’ve ever been. We’re not so big, like Chicago, that a trip across town takes hours and hours, but we’re big enough that there are many different neighborhoods to enjoy and different vibes around town to take advantage off. I really like that an hour in almost any direction gets you to the country. Three hours gets you to wilderness. Minnesota is unique in that it supports a one of the nation’s premier theatre companies and the lower 48’s largest population of wolves. Sort says it all.

The other thing I like about Minnesota, and this is a Midwest thing, the pace of life and expectations of what success looks like are much more aligned to my personal values than they were in California, or would be out East. Things here are a wee bit simpler, there’s a greater value on relationships and making due than trying to keep up with the Jones. I like that a lot.

What is your favorite aspect of winter in Minnesota?

I love winter; actually I love the seasons here. Each in its time of course. I like the idea that in January there’s snow on the ground and no yard work to do, I have time to write and do indoor stuff without feeling guilty about it. I tell folks back home, one question that get asked almost every time someone finds out I’m living in Minnesota “how do you stand the cold?” Those are people who haven’t taken a walk in the winter where having one of those snowstorms when the massive flakes are falling damping all sound and making the world look like post card. I actually deal with cold weather better than I do hot weather. I like wearing jeans and jacket more than I do shorts and a tee.

By the same token, sitting on the deck at the lake place in the summer isn’t an experience that I would have had in California, there aren’t that many lakes and the most of the ones they do have are fake.

How do I pass the winter? I’m good for a few ice fishing trips every winter. I like the whole ice fishing experience, which has very little to do with fishing BTW. More about screwing around on a frozen lake. Driving on a lake, that alone is such a paradigm shift for a Cali Boy. When we moved here I told a friend, on seeing my first frozen snow covered lake; “You could have sold this to a Californian open land and they would have never guessed they’d been suckered until the ice melted or they tried to dig a foundation.”

My kids grew up playing hockey, that was fun in it’s time, got me out of the house in the winter. I also enjoy skiing and have ice skated, although I stink so bad at it that I’m afraid of breaking something and don’t do it very often. Some day I would like to learn to cross country ski. I have trails in the park behind me and for 15 years have said that every winter. I see the folks out there through my back window and think “that could be me.” And then I go get another cup of coffee and think about something else.