Forbidden Drive

So last Wednesday, a jogger got killed by a large tree branch falling and hitting her while she was running in Fairmount Park. The story freaked me out because we were the same age, taught in local schools, and lived in the same neighborhood. Oh, and she was also 4th in her high school class (nothing like the little details to really shred your nerves). So I decided to continue with my running routine in preparation for an upcoming 5K, without the use of my iPod while on trails. There I was yesterday afternoon, just jogging along Forbidden Drive (it's a popular jogging trail, not at all forbidden) when I passed by the spot where she died, marked with various crosses. Nothing makes you want to get out of the woods quicker than that, so I decided to head up a hiking trail in an effort to get back to the main roads. As I was emerging back into the sunlight, I noticed a man in a FOX 29 news van. He yelled to offer me a word of warning, which I figured was about falling tree branches or the like.

Nope. Seems there was a reported "attack" on a woman in the same stretch of park near a parking lot a mile down the road. I had inadvertently run to where the press conference about said attack had just finished. He then cautioned me not to run alone. I made it back home and read the story. For some reason, the word attack made me conjur the image of a mugging, or attempted assault where the would-be victim got away. No, this was rape. It reminded me of a Jezebel item about the news media's inability to use the word. It happened before dark in what I thought was a pretty active and popular parking lot. Finally, if you watch the FOX video, the women interviewed say they plan to bring their husbands or other large, burly men along next time they go running. Which leaves us unmarried running ladies with not as many options. I have pepper spray and a cell phone, but no large dog or running partner. Also, I hate treadmills.