Last week was a big week for me. I got on the scales for the first time since I started my new nutrition and exercise regimen and I went to the doctor for my annual physical.

It hasn’t always been easy being an Atlanta Falcons fan. This hasn’t exactly been the Rolls Royce of NFL franchises. More like the Ford Pinto.

Benjamin Franklin stopped by my office the other day to talk about this week’s presidential inauguration. Don’t scoff. People claim to see UFOs all the time. Other people hold séances to talk to the spirit of their great Aunt Hildegarde. I talk to the Founding Fathers. Play along, OK?

I’ve made no secret of the fact that I hate winter. It’s sneaky. Particularly in the South, you never know when or where Old Man Winter is going to unleash his fury.

As many of you know, I don’t like the idea of New Year’s resolutions. We have good intentions when we make them, but by the end of January, we’re back to doing whatever bad habit we had resolved to stop doing.

I was granted an exclusive interview last week with the jolly ol’ elf himself, Santa Claus. Don’t scoff. This is Santa’s busy time of the year, and there are lots of reporters vying for his time. I heard that Savannah Guthrie was close to getting an interview for the “Today” show, but fortunately for me, she went out on maternity leave before she finalized the details.

We have don’t real heroes much anymore. We look up to athletes, who really haven’t done anything other than score touchdowns and hit home runs. We worship actors, who get millions to pretend they are someone else for our entertainment. We admire singers for doing something lots of ordinary folks are capable of doing almost as well.

I recently read a story online titled “How smart are animals?” The author of this story concluded that animals are, in fact, very smart. The story told of chimps who had learned sign language, dolphins who recognized commands in English and a dog who could do simple math.