As with Alberta Mama, my husband and I have lived long enough to have learned to trust no one with personal details about our lives. In conversation, we cheerfully deflect probing questions. A down side as put by a neighbor at one of the places we lived was a puzzled comment asking if we were in the Witness Protection Program. We laughed but didn’t deny it.
We are retired and have no children or family members involved, and we don’t do social media or encourage visitors, so it is easy for us to keep a very low profile. We’re both loners by nature and are content with each other, our pets, filling holes in our preps, and homesteading activities on our small acreage.
Whenever I get the urge to reach out and form community bonds, I’m afraid common sense always rears its head with visions of the aftermath of Katrina, the unprepared masses in hurricane and tornado zones who rush to the stores the day before the storm hits, and how even “nice” people will do whatever it takes to get from you what they feel they need for their families if they know you have it in an emergency.
Yes, we’re not part of a village. But we wave to neighbors, chat with local shopkeepers, volunteer with the Extension Service, donate to charity, and just live our lives. If SHTF, we can rely on only the bonds we have from 40 years of marriage. And that works for us — we’ll take our chances on forming any bonds AFTER the emergency starts.