Last Night, Instead of Drinking, I Tore a Car Apart

It's not everyday you get to say this, but I tore the doors off a a car last night with spreaders (aka: Jaws of Life).  The man next to me in that picture is my husband. Since we started dating, he tried his damnedest to get me into our local fire department's Citizen's Fire Academy. He joined the department five years ago shortly after his experience with CFA and after last night I can certainly see why.
I will be posting more pictures as I get them, so got now all you get is my husbands glorious mustache and a reassuring thumbs up from me. Keep posted, though. This will be edited as I go along. For now, though, let me tell you about the Jaws of Life...
They are heavy as balls.
Seriously.
And trying to work your way around a heavy tool capable of dismemberment with clunky gloves and a bobbling helmet is awkward. But Oh My is it fun! Our teacher for the night, Ed, is a man with a rather interesting resume. He has worked in every environment you can think of: airplane crashes, gang wars, floods. Ed has seen some shit. So tearing open an empty car was second nature to him, and we all got turns smashing windows, ripping metal, and sheering panels. One lady in our group, Ann, is pushing 80 years old. A few younger men held the Jaws up for her so she could turn the handle and tear off one of the doors. She beamed! Everyone had a blast demolishing the cars last night. And I may talk about some more CFA shenanigans as the weeks go on, especially if we have pictures.
Closing thoughts: tearing open a car is fun, but the people who know how to use spreaders for a living aren't using them when the car is empty. Safety personnel see things that civilians can't begin to fathom or ever want to encounter. If your local fire or police station has a community outreach event, go to it. See what it's like to do what they do. It's also a good way to spend your time if you don't want to drink :)