So tonight I'm running along Military Road, a fairly wide/major street in Arlington, and I hear a sharp crack. I've heard this sound before when a squirrel or another animal managed to snap a limb off a tree.
It's dark, but to my right just a couple of yards from me it appears there's a stand of trees. The cracking sounds spooks me enough that I step off the sidewalk and into the shoulder of the street.
Then I start to hear more cracking, and I decide I'm done standing a few feet from all these trees.
As I'm running across the street, the cracking sound gets louder, and my running faster. As I'm booking it across the street there's an immense burst of white light, followed by a thunderous crash.
I keep running, not daring to look back.
A few moments later there is silence, followed by the whir of machines in what appears to be a nearby power substation.
As I regain my composure, I return to where I was jogging a few moments earlier and find a large tree is now spanning the roadway.
Holy. Smokes.
It occurs to me that had I not heeded the warning signs, I'd have been a pancake right about now.
Once I confirmed that nobody else was around (and possibly injured), I naturally went to work snapping some photos. None of them come close to doing the scene justice.
(Keep in mind, the above scene was just empty road a few minutes earlier.)
A few minutes later, some cars and walkers are on the scene. It's all good, as no one got hurt.
I call 911 and spend a longish minute on hold. I report the obstruction and after a few more pictures, continue on my otherwise uneventful run.
Apparently it's not the crazy cyclists, oblivious drivers or overzealous muggers you need to worry about in North Arlington. It's the pine trees.
Lesson learned.
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