MISSOULA — While most of the country shies away from travel right now, one man is doing quite the opposite.
“I’m traveling across the country interviewing people from different walks of life in different states,” said traveling documentarian Scott Henderson.
He began his journey from Indiana a little over two weeks ago. With ample free time this summer due to the pandemic shut downs, he wanted to take his passion for media and community, combine it with his curiosity for COVID-19, and create a real-time documentary that explores American life amid a pandemic.
“I'm doing it because I want to learn how leaders overcome great disruptions,” said Henderson, “Leaders from business, people who are running nonprofits, artists, individuals who are just ensconced in their day-to-day life, and really understand the psyche of what it takes to come through major disruptions.”
Following the Transcontinental Railroad and the Oregon Trail, Henderson recently made it to the West Coast. As he slowly ventures back east, he’ll travel by the Lewis and Clark Trail, hence the pit stop in Missoula.
The route Henderson chose to travel is no coincidence.
“I wanted to invoke the fact that we are not the first to see great disruptions, and I think that there are lessons we can draw from the past, and then we can actually give lessons to the future generations who have to overcome whatever great disruption they have," he said.
Along the way, Henderson is interviewing people in 20 different states. He’s also sampling surveys of masks to see who is and isn’t wearing them.
Henderson’s travels and interviews will make for a six-part documentary released periodically throughout his trip. You can follow along on social media or his website at ProjectTumbleweed.com.
Henderson says his findings so far have been more uplifting than you’d imagine during a pandemic.
“It is encouraging to know that the major theme is that people have hope that we will get through this, this is this is a solvable crisis, and we can survive and thrive again," Henderson said.
