Ah, the couch potato, that icon of American pop culture values. Isn't
that the life? Why would anyone want to exert extra energy to be
productive when you can simply plop down on the couch in front of the
telly and enjoy all that delicious snack food and a cold one. Why worry
about a yard that needs mowing, a sink full of dishes or that
overflowing garbage can. They will all be there tomorrow or even next
week - you can take care of them then, or not.

There are more
important things to do. On TV there are all those fantastic game shows,
ball games and sitcoms. Oh, those beautiful sitcoms. You can,
literally, sit there for hours and be transported to an altered state
of consciousness where you can laugh and cry and be entertained and not
have to do one little bit of thinking the whole time. And don't forget
those great video movies. You can transport yourself to become a great
athlete or movie star, and can even fall in love or feel a whole range
of other emotions without ever having to risk danger or heartache. What
a life!

Then there is the great food. Everyone knows that the
best food in the world is snack food. It is virtually drips with the
tastiest greasy stuff you can find. And there are dozens of flavors of
chips and all kinds of frozen pizzas and other tasty things you can
just throw into the microwave during a commercial. Then there are all
the sweet snacks. My favorite has to be Zebra Cakes, but who could turn
their nose up at cookies, cakes, pies and candy. And the drinks - ah
yes, the drinks. There are so many flavors of canned soda these days
that you could have a different kind every day for a month - and so
many are low calorie. That's so great because with all of the calories
you save drinking those, yu can grab a couple of extra slices of pizza.

Of
course there are a couple of minor drawbacks. Being a couch potato may
cause you to gain weight and suffer a few health problems that go along
with that. And with the lack of exercise you might end up being a bit
weak physically. And of course, with all the TV viewing, the mind gets
a little numb. But what are a few minor irritations compared to the
overwhelming happiness that allows you to sing "Don't Worry, Be Happy,"
even in your sleep.

But I'm really afraid of what might happen
in the future. The fantastic lifestyle of the couch potato may be under
attack. I heard that there is a lawsuit coming down the road where some
folks are suing fast food establishments for making them fat. When I
first heard about this I was sure that I heard wrong. These people who
are suing must, themselves, be couch potatoes. They seem to have all
the characteristics of people with a couch potato lifestyle. Somehow,
someone must have paid them off. Or worse, they somehow got turned by
the enemy.

I don't think they realize what is at stake. What if
they win? Sure they might get some money, but look at what will be
lost! First, fast food establishments will have to give up serving the
really good tasty fat filled stuff. In the future everything will be
veggie burgers and salad with lemon juice dressing. But it won't stop
there. When the fast food companies are conquered, they will move on to
the other food manufacturers. This is where we really get killed.
Frozen pizzas with no-fat cheese (Have you ever tasted that stuff? All
I can say is "plastic."), chili with soy burger, turkey dogs, popcorn
with no butter, candy with that bitter tasting artificial sweetener and
non-fat frozen yogurt! AAAGHHHH! It's enough to make a grown man cry.

The
result of all this will be to completely take the pleasure out of couch
potatoing. With none of the fattening food around we might lose weight.
We might have so much time on our hands that we get bored and start
working around the house. We might start working out. We might even
actually get a job and lead a productive life. Woe is me, what a
miserable existence it would be to have a trim body, a clean house, and
a productive office. What is this world coming to?

Dr. Freddy
Davis is the owner of TSM Enterprises and conducts conferences,
seminars and organizational training for executives, managers and sales
professionals to help develop greater effectiveness and productivity.
He is the author of the book Supercharged! as well as the Nushell
Series of books for strengthening business. You can visit the TSM
website at www.tsmenterprises.com, or you can contact Freddy directly
at 888-883-0656 or davis@iname.com.