Hot on the heals of  Hurricane Katrina   in New Orleans , August of 2005  was Hurricane  Rita  barreling  our way  when my daughter and  I lived in the  Houston area . It veered off  and spared our home at the last minute  and went off  towards  the Texas /Louisiana line  , but fear  guided our every action as we evacuated  we saw our home   and our lives  hanging in the balance .The horrific devastation   coming across our tv screens and computers   from one state over chased us into  the safety of  the Round Rock near Austin area after  driving   in bumper to bumper traffic for  over 9 hours  up north. Normally  that trip would be  only around 3 hours, but as the population of Houston and it's surrounding areas   headed  to safety,  nerves  were tight and cell phones went out .