Proper word usage

Looking forward to visiting Santa Fe at the end
of January. This photo is from 2010, I think.

I try to keep my grammar scrutiny to a minimum, but sometimes the urge to edit what's written is just too much. I can't control myself and I have to jump on my soap box. A case in point is today's topic: that vs. who.

The quick and dirty rule I remember is to use who when referring to a person and that when referring to an object. This is the rule. Period. The End. Close the door. Or so I thought. I looked in the American Heritage Dictionary today and read, much to my horror, that it's entirely acceptable to write the man that wanted to talk to you, or the man who wanted to talk to you. What? I feel as if I've been stabbed in the heart. This statement is clearly a liberal plot to subvert what I've always known to be true and absolute. 

Today I'm celebrating good grammar. At some future point I'll also provide a refresher on which vs. that, so stay tuned.