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a collection of keys

pak — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 00:45:38 +0000

Philippe, my father-in-law collects keys. He can’t tell you why exactly he started, but just that he was drawn to them. He moved to New York City in 1946, and has been collecting them ever since.

The collection takes up an entire wall in the apartment — he now has more than 400 of them. Some are 5000 years old, others look like something I have in my pocket right now. Some were deliberately collected, but just as many were gifts or were found. Some are very very expensive, others very very cheap. One is from the ruins of Pompeii, one opens a Samsonite suitcase. One is from a medieval monastery, one is for a sardine tin.

I interviewed Philippe this afternoon on video, and I’m working on putting the whole collection online with some of his commentary for everyone to see. It really is amazing.

Here’s a little sneak peak:

st john is divine

pak — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 00:12:26 +0000

I don’t go to church all that often. But I’ve just reconnected with some folks over at Episcopal Charities and my parents happen to be in town. What better excuse to go to the 11 am service yesterday at St John the Divine?

It’s well worth the visit, whether or not you actually go to a service there. It’s up near Columbia University, on 112th and Amsterdam. One of the ministers said it was the biggest Gothic cathedral in the world… There was a fire there a few years ago, and they’re still cleaning the place. But it’s still stunning. Like Old World, how-did-they-do-that, awe-inspiring stunning.

Here are some pics:

claire and me

pak — Mon, 20 Aug 2007 02:00:16 +0000

Photo taken by Paul

in search of #1

pak — Wed, 27 Jun 2007 16:21:09 +0000

I’m happy to report that when you Google my name (”Eric Pakurar”), a snarky comment about my wife is no longer the first thing that pops up. Thank goodness. (And thank you, Noah, for your help and advice in Google optimization.)

A fellow at Swan’s had a little something to say when he saw our wedding announcement in the NY Times a few years ago. And for whatever reason, known only to Google and Noah, this moderately obnoxious, though not outright insulting, comment was the first thing people saw when they went looking for me. Presuming, of course, that anyone would want to go looking for me. This is what he said:

I’M HAPPY TO REPORT that “Claire Elizabeth Lecomte du Nouy, the daughter of Patricia and Philippe Lecomte du Nouy of New York was married yesterday to Christopher Eric Pakurar…,” dixit the paper of record (Nov. 7, 2004, Sunday Styles, p. 14). And I who had thought I had left these double-barreled names behind all the way back to Old Europe… The bride (Swarthmore, Columbia) is keeping her name, of course! Mais bien sur ma jolie…

Now he’s relegated to the third listing. With any luck, he’ll go farther still.