An Unusual Wrecking Crew
The idea of a wrecking crew traditionally conjures up images of big, meaty guys crushing and destroying things.
But in this age of #MeToo, times are rapidly changing. Back when I was a little girl, oh so very long ago, my grandmother informed me that I had three choices of what I could be when I grew up. Hold on to your seats… My choices were: I could be a Mommy, a Nun or a Nurse. (Not a member of a Wrecking Crew!) This would be laughable except for the fact that there are women in existence today who are not allowed to drive a car or leave their homes unless cloaked from head-to-foot in burqas.
Consequently, when I heard about the mostly-female wrecking crew of Rapid Fire Demolition Inc. – a San Diego company that will take a termite-infested, moldy old home down to the ground, like Crocodile Dundee wrassling a listless croc – I decided to help them in their quest to create some video to inform the world about their business.
Date with a Wrecking Crew
On a late Saturday morning, I joined the illustrious team of six women and two men at a site chosen by Habitat for Humanity to construct four new homes in Imperial Beach, an area ripe for gentrification. But first, the team had to knock down the existing home. I interviewed everyone in the wrecking crew with a Sony High Definition camera package. A second Sony camera was mounted on a tripod shooting timelapse footage of the demolition from beginning to end.
The women spoke about how much they enjoyed their work, how many heads they turned at the Home Depot, and their delight at the philanthropic aspect of destroying this particular home that had seen better days.The leader of the group. Jessica Hanson, president of Rapid Fire Demolition Inc., a transplant from Alabama, has a soft southern accent and knows how to wield a sledge hammer. Her husband and friends comprise the team. Who says nepotism is bad?
Tearing Down the Walls
It was an inspirational morning for me to see a group of young women tearing down walls. The symbolism is painfully obvious, of course, but there’s something else. This new generation of women have picked up some heavy tools. And they are using them to carve out the kind of future that has no boundaries. They can do when men can do, and they can do it faster and better.
The new homes are built with families moved in. Here is what the neighborhood looks like now.
The new home built by Habitat for Humanity
