James D. Patterson's early life was as a farm boy in Missouri. He has an A. B. from the University of Missouri, an S. M. from the University of Chicago, and a Ph. D. from the University of Kansas, all in Physics. He taught and did research in Physics at the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, The Florida Institute of Technology, and Idaho State University, among other universities. JDP now lives in the Black Hills of South Dakota. This fictional story's origins come from his observations while attending a cardiac Rehab group in Rapid City.
