Michael
Harling was born and grew up in rural, upstate New York. He began
writing at an early age, preferring to
pen poems and stories rather than go raccoon hunting with people who
wore John Deere caps and red and black flannel jackets. He got
beat up a lot.
His writing career
was temporarily put on hold when he fell in with a group of Christian fundamentalists
who believed writing was the work of the devil. He had Satan cast
out of him a lot.
After his
inevitable excommunication he attempted to make his mark in the world using the only
talent at his disposal; being a smart ass. He didn't date much.
Over
the years, in addition to holding down a 'real' job, Michael wrote for radio, published articles in various
newspapers and magazines--including The Journal of Forensic
Identification, Writer's Digest and The National Lampoon--while he performed
stand-up comedy and attempted to finish a novel.
Eventually,
and through no fault of his own, he found himself living in Sussex, England, writing articles on expatriate life
and, as always, working on another novel.
Lindenwald is the Federalist style mansion built by Peter Van Ness outside of the town of Kinderhook, NY in 1797. In 1839 it was bought by Martin Van Buren, 8th President of the United States and native of Kinderhook. President Van Buren retired to the Lindenwald estate and lived there until his death in 1862.
The mansion has changed hands several times since then. At one time, during the 1940’s, it was a private nursing home where my mother, when she was in her teens, worked as a laundress. During the 1960’s, it was owned by Mr. Campbell, who ran an antique shop out of the single, surviving gatehouse.
Lately, it has been taken over and restored by the National Park Service.
I grew up very near this imposing mansion and spent many afternoons rummaging through Mr. Campbell’s cluttered junk-shop of an antique store. But this web site has nothing at all to do with the Lindenwald estate, the National Park Service or Martin Van Buren. I just liked the name Lindenwald.
If you are interested in knowing more about Lindenwald or President Van Buren, please visit the following web sites:
Lindenwald
Martin Van Buren
