Peg Murphy Writing and Speaking for Fun!    Writing is my life...ok, I lied...American Idol ranks right up there.  Here are some of my "etchings" for you to enjoy..I hope! Couch Potatoes ~ slandering the good name of "spud"      I wonder where the term "couch potato" comes from?  Or, to be more grammatically correct, from where does the phrase originate? I, personally, have never seen a potato lay, slouch, drape or sprawl on any piece of furniture. Maybe there has been an occasion or three when a trace of mashed potato remnants were discovered near a sofa. This was just a reminder that I needed to do a better job of harnessing the wee ones after dinner for better hand and face scrubbing after dinner time.     I think that maybe the members of this tubular crop have a good chance of winning a law suit aimed against those who defile the good name of potatoes everywhere.  I don't recall that this "couch potato" slander has been targeted toward any particular brand of spud. Idaho, Maine, russets,round whites and yellow flesh can all unite for a "tater" class action law suit.  In fact, the term "veg out" is just as insulting!  With the entire vegetable family reputation being tarnished, they can join in the litigation!     When I analyze the myriad of jobs that my potato friends perform, I get quite emotionally involved. What teenager could exist for very long without ordering french fries with a cheeseburger and coke? Wouldn't pot roast look desperate and dateless without potatoes nestling close to the carrots? How would the master chefs around the world substitute comparable foods to the succulent spud?  I wonder is they can serve lyonnaise kale?  (what the heck is lyonnaise anyway?)     Maybe other substitutes would include - mashed rhubarb...or scalloped beets...how about baked okra, french-fried carrots or parsnip chips?     This subject has stressed me out so I must try to  relax.  I know what I will do...I'll  stretch out on my living room Lazy Boy (another bad rap) and become a "chair noodle" and see how the various pastas like that term!