With today being America’s Independence Day weekend, figured it appropriate to hit everyone with an armed services-related post.

Couple months back, I had a lull in work travels and made some time to photograph Ron Miller, the former Naval Commanding Officer at Magnuson/Sand Point here in Seattle.

Before getting in studio, I was lucky enough to hear stories and tour his old offices in what is now ‘Building 30,’ a multi-use complex that hosts a number of community events here in Seattle.

The ballroom floor above no doubt saw quite a bit of traffic, and as he reminisced about the good ole’ days, Ron revealed a number of old cassettes buried deep in his bomber jacket. Apparently, they contained the daily motivational speeches he was often known to give to his newer recruits.

One title, “Prescription for Relief from Stress” was a favorite. **(As an aside: some days later, I received a compendium of these speeches in printed form. . .)

While it’s sad to admit that Building 30 now lays in a state of semi-disrepair, there’s quite a bit of community effort to preserve it by transforming it to artists’ studios and small naval museum. The image above shows an installation undertaken by a number of Magnuson Park artists as a means to draw attention to the building’s state.

Either way, it’d be great to breathe new life into 30 and get someone else in there besides the ducks.

As we made our way out, I couldn’t help but notice Ron’s sweet bomber jacket.

Asked him about picking one up in a large, but was informed that it only came in two sizes, 1) no and 2) just Ron’s.

Much appreciation to Ron for taking the time to sit for me. Happy Fourth to everyone!

More always,

Mike