i\'m from moss bluff just north of lake charles...i stayed and weathered rita with my cat and sent the rest of the family and pets to eunice...i\'ve always wanted to experience a hurricane and indeed i did...my lites went out early around 7:30pm friday nite...i didn\'t board up the windows and wasn\'t prepared for the aftermath...i didn\'t think it would be as bad as it was... early the wind was out of the east north east and around 8pm i had to board up some windows that began to leak....bad caulking job...then darkness fell and with it some trees...the wind sounded like a constant roar from a jet.....we live in a wooded area and the trees were taking a beating...there was a little glow in the sky to the south from all the refineries so i sat on a bean bag with the front door open facing south...there i sat and listened and watched the trees bend and sway... about midnite when the plants all lost power it was pitch black and really getting bad...also during the storm some lewters were in our neighborhood as i found out the next day...they left their car half-way in the bayou just down the road...i heard a couple of gunshots during the storm that came from a neighbor who surprised them as they tried to enter their home...not sure what time it was but at the height of the storm i heard debris just pound my house..sounded like the roof was peeling off and the chimney was being blown away....the roof remained but had most of what was showing was bare plywood...those heavy green pinecones were what was pounding the house as i found out when daylight arrived...when i went out and surveyed the house,neighborhood and community i never thought i\'d see so much damage...trees down everywhere...some houses smashed and some like mine in pretty good shape...it took 2 weeks before we got power back...severe weather has always fascinated me and i survived my first hurricane...i hated to see all the damage done...if another one comes our way i will stay unless its a cat 4 or 5 then i\'ll haul myself to safety...crazy i am