Author and showman C.D. Payne was born in Akron, Ohio in 1949 (making him a contemporary of Richard Gere and Meryl Streep). He spent his early years in West Virginia and southern Ohio, moving back to Akron while still a mere tot. He went to public schools in Akron, and then graduated from Harvard College, where he majored in history and participated in the annual spring riot. In 1971 he moved to California. During the next 25 years, he held over 50 jobs including newspaper editor, book publisher's assistant, proofreader, trailer park handyman, and catalog writer. Since 2004 he has been the proprietor of the Eyelusion Museum, a mobile discovery museum in a restored and polished 1964 Airstream trailer. His latest mobile sideshow is a 1950s miniature town (shown below) called Zippy Town. It can been seen at the Santa Rosa Handcar Regatta and other events. He is married and lives in Sonoma County.