Be Careful Who You Sleep WithHolly Deyo, Contributor When Stan was shown the ideal location for us in the U.S. while we still lived in Victoria, Australia, in order to meet this dream-vision, we had to start over financially. Painful? You have no idea. Stan had lived outside of America for 30 years, and Australias version of retirement did not transfer to the United States. Consequently, when we were moved back home in 2001 6 months before 9-11 financially we were like someone in their late teens. While many of our friends were retiring, we ramped up our work hours. Not fun? Believe it! Did we obey Stans God-given vision? Absolutely. Since we do not partake of government entitlements, in order to remain free, it was incumbent on us to work horrendous hours to earn our way. Now fast-forward a decade. Were located in the southern portion of Colorado. Were newbies to this area. No roots, no high school or university reunions within an arms reach. In essence, we are outsiders in every respect. So we understand what it means to live in a foreign area. As peoples job requirements and personal circumstances dictate, folks will be less rooted to certain locales with less long-standing ties, and more prone to becoming a transplant. Thats where we found ourselves a little over 10 years ago. Now let me back up a bit. Six months ago, we met an Oathkeeper and fellow prepper. He and his wife were in the same position as ourselves and lived about a mile away. We became fast friends, dined at each others home, shared prep philosophy and finally, discussed what each of us had done prep-wise. At their request, we gave them an itemized list of our food stocks the next day and waited for them to reciprocate. After this exposure, three weeks went by with no word from them. Giving them their just due, the man had undergone minor surgery and we understood that he was in recovery mode. After he was home home and feeling OK, there was still no communication. We had laid out our cards, but they shared nothing and with a poor excuse as to why. Do we feel dumb or what! Now we were totally exposed. Vulnerable. As a result, weve had to move ALL of our supplies elsewhere off-site because we had mistakenly trusted. Are we an anomaly? Hardly. Did we feel stupid for being supposedly well-informed preppers? You bet! So heres a second thought folks. We have friends here on our street, in our neighborhood. Maybe we dont share all common interests. Maybe we dont get together weekly for dinners. Maybe they arent all Christian. BUT and heres the real deal weve got each others backs. Weve been to each others kids weddings and graduations, funerals, block parties, yakked on the phone about nothing, worried together about this and that, and forged ties that supercede all else. For example Thanksgiving Eve, when people are cozy around their fireplaces, sipping wine and relaxing with family, we got a worried phone call from next door. A neighbors new baby dog had gone missing an hour before. Word that a friend was in need spread like wildfire. Without any planning or asking whatsoever, 6 families spread out through the neighborhood, over acres of land in pitch blackness on foot armed with flashlights searching 3 hours for this missing dog. Tragically, we did not find him, but the unspoken bond of helping said more than words convey. These folks arent necessarily all preppers. In fact, most arent. However, we share a common bond of friendship of having each others back. Maybe in the days to come, in times of us vs. them, of helping those whove done nothing yet all pulling together, maybe this is the message we are supposed to consider. It may not be so much of what youve personally stored, where youve got to go for refuge, but more importantly, it is the essence of community. You never know what others bring to the prep table and it may be just what is needed. Holly Drennan Deyo is the author of three books: bestseller Dare To Prepare (4th ed.), Prudent Places USA (3rd ed.) and Garden Gold (2nd ed.) Please visit her and her husbands website: standeyo.com and their FREE Preparedness site: DareToPrepare.com. linkwithin_text=Related Articles: 