Reader question:

Please explain “That’s the deal” – it’s the title of a song by Kathy Mattea, with these words:

There was a gentleman I knew

A stroke held his wife fast asleep

And his whole life had come down to

The vigil he would daily keep

I asked would he rather be free?

And this is how he answered me

That’s the deal, that’s the bargain that you make

That if better turns to worse you will abide

That’s the deal, if it were not for God’s grace

I might be there in her place and she’d be right by my side

That’s the deal

My comments:

Lovely, isn’t it? To have a worthy and deserving relationship like that – the bedridden wife is worthy and deserving of the care he is now giving him in natural return for the care and happiness she gave him before. I mean, that’s the logical conclusion I have – otherwise couples would’ve split long before that. About half Americans in big cities, and the figure is high here in big Chinese cities too, divorce at any rate, some more than once.

Anyways, originally the “deal” refers to your “hand” the handful of cards you have to play with in a poker game. You know, at the beginning of each game, the cards are reshuffled before someone deal out the cards to each and every player. And the cards you get become “your deal” for that particular game.

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