Shayne And Lori North
Hi, I am a teenager at heart even though I am in early seventies in age. Something in me never grew up. When I was very young, I looked at the world with an awe and wonder that never went away. Most men, when they age beyond being a teenager, mature into a cerebral, logical, reserved, seeing life and others at an arm’s length state. Formality and emotional distancing suit them. They start taking themselves too seriously, in my opinion. I was just the opposite. The more I grew, the more color I saw in life and in other people. In my marriage, Lori is the cerebral, reserved logical one that thinks like a man, and I am the gushy, emotional one that sees good in everyone and everything, like my mother and grandmothers. I need to know how others are feeling, caring much about their emotional and spiritual well being. I must know how everyone is doing and know that everyone is okay. Every living thing matters to me. Like I say about the birds in our back yard, fighting over feeding spots on the feeder, ‘These birds are people too.’
Lori my wife is a Christian, the daughter of a pastor from Council Bluffs Iowa. You do not get any more apple pie, grass roots Midwest American than her. Lori’s mother died of an unexpected stroke years before we met. Our meeting happened in a singles’ group in Galilee Baptist Church in Aurora, Colorado. Lori has health problems and is very socially backward and has learning disabilities. I have the honor of being more than her husband, I get to be her caretaker and I am in essence her whole world. That is a big responsibility for which I am honored to take great effort in doing as completely as possible. We have no children, and our parental efforts are spent on our cat, a rescue from a Goodwill Warehouse near I-70 and Kearney Street in Denver, where I used to pick up scrap metal for my employer.
My profession is in local truck driving which I have had the blessing of doing for over five decades in the Denver and Colorado setting. For my emotional needs, it does not get any better than that for a profession. I like truck driving because of two main reasons: First, while driving, it gives me time to think and meditate about my passion, which is life, emotional dynamics, love, and deep spiritual things. Truck driving gives me time for reflection in those interests. Second, I must be socially connected to as many people as possible for me to feel complete. In truck driving when you are taking scrap metal to the foundry in Pueblo there are many people you will meet. I will never retire because I need to be connected ongoing to the community, and I cannot be without this very social employment. My employment is also to me my contribution to Humankind. Meeting others through my work has given me many rich relationships with others in all stations in life and varied statuses, socially and financially.
We live in Aurora, Colorado, one of the twenty or so independent cities that make up the Denver Metro Area. Our home is in Seven Hills and is as very Joe Homestead white picket fence urban as it gets. If you think of the 1960’s, Leave It To Beaver, Father Knows Best type family shows, that typifies our neighborhood. Arrowhead Elementary School at the bottom of the hill, end of our street, and Seven Hills Park next door provide all the suburban feeling one could ever want for raising a family.
Our home does not look like any other home in such a setting for a housing development built in 1974. Mother Cornell, or Cornell Manor as we affectionately call it, is under permanent restoration because I love the Victorian Era. Where most homes in our neighborhood have only two colors of paint, our home has thirteen colors. I love Antiquity and all things ancient, old fashioned, and old school. I go out of my way to be as non-current, untrending, and out of style as I can be. There is no modernity in our home, inside or out. Whatever others do in society to be in vogue, current and trendy, I go out of my way to do or be just the opposite.
I have a passion for what I call rustic carpentry. Others want modern and up to date construction and things like open uncovered decks made from modern plastic, I enjoy our enclosed redwood deck back porch. The deck is from when they harvested clear heart redwood. I love to build things out of old abandoned scrap wood others have cast off. I am constructing a summer house at the top of the hill in our back yard from such old wood given to me. It is constructed to look like an old mining structure found in our hills in Colorado that looks like it is two hundred years old. In my profession, friends have given me many metal things that are very old, and they are in our back yard and clutter our back porch, to Lori’s dismay.
I also put in a stream coming down the hill in our back yard that was intentionally designed to resemble a stream where miners who first came to Colorado might have searched for gold. When I build something, or drive in the mountains, I am always emotionally connected to those in our past. As I drive, I think about what effort it took to survey and build the roads or build the bridges in our state. Many gave their lives to make our world what it is today, in all parts of the globe, not just in America. These people had names, faces, and they had lives they lived serving Humankind, and I want to be one of them.
My passion for all things emotional began when I had severe emotional needs and low self-esteem in my childhood. I always wanted to grow up to be a psychologist because I somehow knew psychologists made people feel better about themselves, which I as a child needed, and I always wanted to give that comfort to others. After six decades of revelation, I finally fully understand the reasons why that profession was not the best place for me to serve Humankind. There was an even better place, and that is in doing what I am doing, in where I am doing it.
I do not sell anyone on any religious denomination. I have long since discovered that religion, especially Christianity, and spirituality are vastly different. Any religion is only one society’s version of spirituality, and like a single size of shoes, will never fit anyone with a different size of feet. Some can fit spiritually in that role, because that is who they are, like Lori’s father as a pastor. Paul Miller brought much good and nurturing into Humankind through his role as a pastor. I want to nurture others and bring my contribution into Humankind, but it will be through my friendship at my work and this website. Speaking of this outreach effort, it is a ministry, not intended to generate income through any affiliate arrangements. I fund it entirely from our estate alone.
Everyone in Humankind has a place where God wants them to find where they can be fully themselves. I found my place in the sun where I can be fully my authentic self, and I want you to find your place where you can be your happiest also.
Talking about God may not be worship of God, learning about the Bible may not be worship of God. Being our best highest character selves is always glorifying and worship of God.
Just for the record, this is an emotional and spiritual encouragement ministry. We are selling nothing here and are not at the present time even set up to take donations, and probably never will. Your healed life is our reward enough, and we are very pleased with that. If you want to, please share your strength with others in your future so our nurturing can live on.