Don't have a cow: At the end of a tidy yet depressed street in Pleasant Grove chock-full of pawnshops and ethnic restaurants, a shuttered Army-Navy store bordering Interstate 30 awaits demolition. A new Golden Arches is going up here.
Maybe.
Plans for McDonald's in this quiet neighborhood face resistance from an unlikely source: Hare Krishnas who worship at a nearby temple, own several modest houses and run a school across the street from the McD's-to-be. A fast-food joint in the midst, says one member, mocks the Krishnas' religiously informed vegetarianism: Members of the Hindu sect consider cows sacred. So does Buzz, at least when they're cooked rare and smothered in mushrooms, but we're pretty sure the Hare Krishnas mean something different.
"We understand there are people who eat meat," says Mike Meyer, vice president of Texas Krishnas. "That's their choice, but don't do it right in our face." Adding to their anger is betrayal felt nationwide by Hindus who recently learned that McDonald's fries contain beef flavoring. Previously, Hindus ate the fries believing they were meat-free, but now think McDonald's tricked them into violating their religion. (As though eating a McDonald's fry remotely resembles eating a real vegetable.)
The Krishnas, who count about 200 adherents locally and run a vegetarian restaurant at their temple, also fear increased traffic will threaten tranquility and endanger students at the community's school, says Meyer, who joined the Hare Krishnas after accepting a book from a Krishna at the airport. Seriously.
Karen Skinner, owner of McKaren Enterprises, Dallas' major McDonald's franchisee, didn't return calls for comment.
Supermen: Far be it from Buzz to criticize good deeds done for children--God bless 'em--but last week the Rangers issued, to fans 14-and-under, a comic book called Texas Rangers in Dangerland that, surprisingly, was not referring to the American League West.
In it, four Rangers--Alex Rodriguez, Pudge Rodriguez, Rafael Palmeiro and Ken Caminiti--lead double lives, serving as both baseball stars and superheroes. The four are dispatched to fight a troll named Cantankerous Foil, who has caused an energy crisis with his "energy reversal" machine. Our muscle-bound, armor-clad heroes take their "big peacemaker bats" and whack Foil's henchmen. Caminiti joins in, too, which is interesting considering he hasn't hit anything all season.
In the end, after Pudge flings a rock and destroys Foil's machine, Palmeiro excitedly says: "Maybe you should talk to Jerry Narron about letting you pitch instead of catch!"
There was something off-color Buzz wished to say here, but unfortunately we're out of space...
--Compiled by Patrick Williams
