In fact, Holden, 53, eats nearly half of his meals at McDonald's, on his quest to eat in every franchise in North America (more than 13,600 at press time, of which he logged No. 10,894 on Aug. 19). His one-day record: 45 McDonald's in Detroit on Oct. 26, 1975. Why does he do this? "Because it's there. Any collector will appreciate the concept."
Holden, a manager at a data-imaging company in Warrenton, Va., has been collecting since his childhood outside Chicago, when the objects of his desire were baseball cards. Then he began collecting places—state capitals, national parks—always eating at McDonald's. One day he realized he had been to about a thousand—and had a new goal.
Holden's usual meal: two sandwiches, no fries. "Fries," says Holden, at 6'2" a trim 195-pounder, "put on the weight." His cholesterol, too, weighs in impressively low at 169. Says cardiologist David Pearle: "He's genetically blessed."
Holden's girlfriend, psychotherapist Kathleen Vacanti, 46, is puzzled by his quirk but doesn't think he needs treatment. "Peter," she says, "is one of those lucky people who gets excited about little things." And John Rome, Holden's employer, has no beef either. "Peter has the lowest food-expense reports of anybody in the company."
Saved by the Bell Reunion
The hookups, the meltdowns, the memoires
The case reveals what was really going on what they think of each other now!
