Playing the Single Parent Card

The Jerusalem Pool, of which I was a member for several years and until two weeks before I gave birth, is closing its doors at least temporarily, if not permanently, in order to build yet another overpriced luxury apartment complex that no Jerusalem resident can afford.

The management knew this of this plan, and yet had me pay for a year's membership that they knew I would not be able to use, especially because I renewed in my third trimester of pregnancy.

Last week I received a letter from them, saying that I should basically "use it or lose it," and it angered me to the extent that I wrote them a letter outlining their poor and fraudulent business practices. I closed by saying that the money they had "stolen" from me could be much better used toward diapers or other aspects of my life as a single parent.

I expected either no response, or a pro-forma letter that said "Ha ha, gotcha. That's life." Instead, much to my surprise and delight, I received a check today in the mail, refunding the amount of the membership that will not be utilized.

I don't like using my status as a single parent to elicit sympathy, and yet at certain times in certain situations, it seems to do the trick. Either that, or they simply have so many people demanding refunds that they would rather cut a check than get involved in a class-action lawsuit.