STUART: The deadliest trees are the dead trees

We set up camp in a city park and I decided to sleep under the stars on top of a concrete picnic table. At about 12:30 I woke up to some enormously large winds and watched the trees above my head sway from the gusts. There was a live tree by my feet and a dead one by my head. I figured if I saw them start to fall on me, I'd just roll under the table. The gusts got faster and louder in the next 15 minutes and were accompanied by lightning. Little thuds kept getting closer and closer to me and gave me the impression that an animal was coming towards me. The steps were irregular and came from different areas, but as the thuds started getting alarmingly close and I saw what they were, with the illumination of lightning. They were pieces of bark from the dead trees being blown down to the earth. I realized how unsafe my situation was so I got up from the table and hopped in my sleeping back over to the covered area, taking my water, Louis L'amour book, and left my wallet (good prioritizing). I had only covered ten feet with my hopping before a giant piece (4 feet long and maybe 2 feet wide) was blown off the tree and landed a couple feet from where my head was on the table. Glad I moved.