I just wanted to let everyone know that The South's Defenders Monument in Lake Charles, Louisiana survived Hurricane Rita unscathed. We were allowed to go in today to check our property and I also checked on the monument. It had no damage but some large oak trees just a few yards away were badly damaged. This is the third major hurricane the monument has survived: the 1918 hurricane; Hurricane Audrey in 1957 and now Hurricane Rita. An interesting footnote is that in the 1918 hurricane, the statue of the Confederate color-bearer was blown off its pedestal, did a flip and landed on the ground on its feet. I've seen a picture of the statue standing next to its pedestal after the storm in 1918. After that it was securely fastened to the pedestal. My house didn't fare so well. It had extensive roof damage, most of my trees were blown down as was much of my wooden fence. But the interior was okay.