Interview: Ward Christensen

Ward's interview stands as the most stressful of all of them, simply because of the pressure of interviewing the guy who invented the thing the documentary is about. I had done everything I could to ensure there'd be no "surprises" with the session. I'd interviewed folks for a month beforehand, and even scheduled a flight to Washington DC a week before I went to Chicago, simply to see if going on a plane with the equipment would cause any issues. It didn't and it hasn't (although I've had to take all of the equipment out of my camera bag and show them to security guards more than I care to mention). I pored over historical documents related to Ward and the history around him, and I had a list of questions in my mind to ask him. We had the interview scheduled for that night, a few hours after I'd get in, figuring I'd need a little time to get my rental car and find the location. Disaster struck when I arrived at T.F. Green airport in Providence, walked up to the ticket counter, and was told that since I had arrived 45 minutes before the flight, there simply was no way I was going on it. Not only that, but I got the real great "you're an idiot" attitude from the ticket counter person, like I'd worn a silly hat to a debutante ball. I begged and pleaded for something to be done, some other move or action we could take that might get me in the air that night, even paying more money, but they were adamant; I was not going anywhere. I was basically in tears; here I had assembled this history-filled weekend, starting off with the father of it all, and there was no way I was going to make it there that night. I went downstairs and called Ward at a payphone. He was gracious and understanding, and even went as far to say that my cancelling Friday was in fact a boon, because he had a major project at work and this would give him the whole night to work on it. I went back to the counter and asked if I could have my ticket moved to a flight the next morning, and was t