Blog

Life in a Tank
June 8, 2023

I collect old books and learn a lot from them. At a recent visit to my favorite used bookstore, a 1918 book by Richard Haigh caught my eye, both because of the subject matter (World War I) and the title: “Life in a Tank.” I have often thought of our [...]

My First (and Last?) ChatGPT Parenting Blog Post
May 29, 2023

I enjoy writing. After more than 3 decades writing the results of my medical and scientific research, with more than 200 publications in those fields, I made the transition to writing for a general readership.  For you. And I’m proud of the books, blogs, magazine and newspaper columns I’ve written [...]

STUFF
May 22, 2023

Our neighbor of many years passed away recently, a few months before her 101st birthday. She had lived a full and productive life as an artist, wife, and mother. A Covid widow, she lost her husband just weeks before vaccines became available. Because of her unique art and gracious community [...]

The King of Consumption – Our Dog’s Purpose
May 19, 2023

If you haven’t read “A Dog’s Purpose” by W. Bruce Cameron, or seen the movie based on the book, or read the sequel books, or seen the sequel movies…well, you should do all of those things. Bailey the dog has touched the hearts of millions of readers and moviegoers since [...]

A NEW MOTHER’S DAY (AND FATHER’S DAY) IDEA
May 14, 2023

Writing about Mother’s Day is a little like writing about “America” or “money” or “religion” or “the environment.” So much has been written about some topics, every angle covered and covered again, there’s little left to add. What more can anyone say about Mother’s Day that hasn’t been said? Rather than repeat, [...]

ON THE ROAD AGAIN
April 25, 2023

When our kids were little, we would pack up a rental RV every spring and fall break from school and head to the national parks. We covered all the ones we could drive to, and even flew to rent an RV for a remote park that was too far to [...]

They May Need to Rename the TV Series
April 4, 2023

In my last post, I posited that, like other “indisputable” theories in the history of science, the Big Bang Theory may have to be rethought. I recently received a note from a new friend and thoughtful reader of my book No Regrets Living in which he shared yet another reason [...]

UNTIL AND UNLESS PROVEN OTHERWISE
March 7, 2023

In my book, NO REGRETS LIVING (HCI Books, 2021), I discuss the relative “credibility” of the Big Bang versus religious theory about the beginnings of the universe. I wrote this: “On May 20, 1964, two scientists listening to noises of the universe through a powerful audio telescope accidently stumbled onto [...]

NEW YEAR’S ABSOLUTIONS FOR PARENTS
January 1, 2023

New Year’s resolutions are a nice concept but risky business – if we don’t live up to those bold promises we feel like failures. For parents, this can be particularly tough, as we often make resolutions not only for ourselves but for our families, and this magnifies the chances of [...]

GIVING THANKS FOR HEAT
December 22, 2022

Giving Thanks for Heat In my new book, No Regrets Living – 7 Keys to a Life of Wonder and Contentment, one of the “keys” I suggest is to take a few dedicated moments each day to reflect on what you are grateful for in your life. I guarantee you [...]

THANKFUL FOR THAT OLD BASKETBALL HOOP
December 4, 2022

THIS THANKSGIVING, I WAS THANKFUL FOR THAT OLD BASKETBALL HOOP A little rusty, a little droopy, and a little too high for our grandchildren, our old basketball hoop was resuscitated on Thanksgiving. Or maybe reincarnated is the better term. It’s been 12 years since our three kids shot baskets on [...]

DON’T STOP WITH THANKSGIVING AND THE DECEMBER HOLIDAYS!
November 15, 2021

As we approach the meaningful and memorable family traditions surrounding Thanksgiving, I hope you’ll take this excerpt from the UPDATED AND EXPANDED edition of No Regrets Parenting to heart: Russian scientist Ivan Pavlov became famous at the turn of the twentieth century for discovering and characterizing what he called the “conditioned [...]

FOUR ESSENTIAL PARTS OF NEW EDITION OF “NO REGRETS PARENTING”
October 15, 2021

The UPDATED AND EXPANDED Edition of “No Regrets Parenting – Turning Long Days and Short Years into Cherished Moments with Your Kids” is written in 4 parts. Part 1 lays out the basic principles of No Regrets Parenting, and Part 2 provides specific strategies in the practice of No Regrets [...]

The Four Corners of Our House
October 7, 2021

THE FOUR CORNERS OF OUR HOUSE With the release of the first edition of “No Regrets Parenting” nearly 10 years ago, interviewers, readers of the book, and attendees at my seminars asked how the “No Regrets Parenting” concept developed. I answer by describing our house. It’s a simple two-story with [...]

A GRADUATION SPEECH – FOR PARENTS
October 4, 2021

As your high school grads move on this fall to college campuses or work lives, you deserve a celebration of your own. And if your kids are still young and in the nest, I want to help you look ahead to that day when your kids enter the next phase [...]

NO REGRETS GRANDPARENTING???
October 1, 2021

NO REGRETS GRANDPARENTING??? Why, you might ask, is there a brand new section in the Updated and Expanded Edition of “No Regrets Parenting” on GRANDparenting? Well…since publication of the first edition of “No Regrets Parenting,” hundreds of grandparents have written to me (you can too, at www.harleyrotbart.com.) Some have asked [...]

The ULTIMATE Parenting Book
September 30, 2021

The days are long but the years are short. Make the memories everlasting. For every family with kids, the updated and expanded edition of No Regrets Parenting is the essential, open-to-all, parenting guidebook, guaranteed to help parents find more—and better—time with their kids. No Regrets Parenting focuses on the simple truth that the long [...]

THE PANDEMIC AND OUR INNER SPARKS
August 23, 2021

Friends: The timing of my “No Regrets Living” book’s preparation and release has allowed me to weave my observations on the pandemic into the book’s foundational 7 Keys to a Life of Wonder and Contentment. My reflections on the pandemic, including coping mechanisms and paths for going forward, are offset [...]

POLIO, MY FRIEND DEBBIE, AND THE CASE FOR VACCINES
August 8, 2021

The timing of my “No Regrets Living” book’s preparation and release has allowed me to weave my observations on the pandemic into the book’s foundational 7 Keys to a Life of Wonder and Contentment. My reflections on the pandemic, including coping mechanisms and paths for going forward, are offset in [...]

SOCIAL NEARNESS
August 5, 2021

The timing of the preparation and release of my “No Regrets Living” book, as well as my 4 decades as an infectious diseases physician, allowed me to weave my observations on the COVID-19 pandemic into the book’s foundational “7 Keys to a Life of Wonder and Contentment.” My reflections on [...]

THE FOUR INDEPENDENCE OF CHILDHOOD
July 4, 2021

HAPPY JULY 4! THESE ARE YOUR KIDS’ INDEPENDENCE DAYS As we celebrate July 4, our nation’s Independence Day, this is a good time to reflect on a different kind of “independence day.” Each day of a child’s life brings new growth and development, sometimes subtle, other times momentous. Among the [...]

THE BLESSINGS OF BEING ADULT CHILDREN – IN MEMORY OF OUR MOMS
May 9, 2021

It’s been nearly three years since my wife and I both lost our moms, exactly 7 weeks apart. Those were very sad days and the memories of our final months and years with our moms are powerful ones, never more so than on Mother’s Day. So… FOR OUR MOMS, ON [...]

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ALBERT EINSTEIN AND HUMMINGBIRDS
April 26, 2021

Adapted from “No Regrets Living: 7 Keys to a Life of Wonder and Contentment.” “There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is.”   —Albert Einstein I am firmly in the latter category. We all have [...]

THE CHILDREN OF WHITWELL, TENNESSEE
April 22, 2021

One of the fears brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic has been that children, infected in school, will bring the virus home to adults who are more susceptible to severe disease. For that reason, schools across the country and across the world have been closed, on and off, for the [...]

THE “MIRACLE” OF VIRUSES
April 11, 2021

“There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is.” —Albert Einstein Over a very brief period of time the world has watched as an outbreak of a flu-like illness has pread, but is unlike any [...]