As an atheist and Social Security survivor, lamentably, I had to forgo some of the happenings the Tribune reported last week. Which was to skip the once-a-week Shilshole Bay Beach Club offering of an $11 Beach Burger, with lettuce and tomato, and an $8 "beach special" drink. Nor did I rush over (shortness of breath, no car, non-existent public transportation) to the Golden Gardens Bath House to get baptized by the new cult (Mars Hill Church) in town. If you look for the somewhat hidden, narrow paths beside Anthony's, Ray's the Beach Club, and other spots on the water, you can place your fingers and toes in Salmon Bay at low tide. Bring a snack; the view is excellent! $11 for a burger; $8 for a drink, or maybe $16 for two; tax and tip; and there goes $40. Can a slumming Seattle barista or Social Security recipient afford that?

Is the Tribune is writing to the condo gentry on yuppie salaries? Or to the delusional who think they suffer from "spiritual hunger" and need to enrich Pastor Mark Driscoll and his Martians?

While not a beach club, and viewless, I'm saving up for the Monday night $5 hamburger special at Hattie's Hat. I'm sorry that Gordo's is gone and wish I had known that he served the best chocolate malts. I look forward to the return of the metal sculptures on the Ballard Bridge, which are impressive, whether seen from below or on the footpaths. From the eastern footpath you can still get a birdseye view of the "progress-engulfed" Edith Macefield house (the once developer-defiant woman who died in June at 86) before it's abolished.

Bob Miller

Ballard