Yes, that is the actual quote from a presidential campaign button for the 1968 presidential election. No wonder Humphrey lost. The button was sent to me by Mrs. McDowell from Minnesota, and I am grateful for this piece of Americana in my grammatical museum.

What I want to know is this: Minnesotan’s WHAT for Humphrey ?

That is, I am assuming that “Minnesotan’s” isn’t short for “Minnesotan is” in this case, but that “Minnesotan’s” is being used in the possessive case. Is this a “Minnesotan’s BUTTON for Humphrey” or is this symbolic of a Minnesotan’s VOTE for Humphrey” … I certainly don’t know.

Or perhaps it is indeed a contraction and the first letter is an implied “this,” as in: This Minnesotan’s for Humphrey.

Realistically, I guess, the button really intended to say that the wearer of the button is part of a group of Minnesotans who are for Humphrey. But that’s not what the button says.

Where were the proof readers and spell checkers?

What would be really funny is a button that says: Minnesotan’s for Grammar.

I am not knocking Minnesota. In fact, the button very possibly was not even made in Minnesota. Across this great land of ours, colored with purple mountains’ (yes plural possessive) majesty above the fruited plains, grammatical mistakes are abundant. We need to encourage each other to clean up our usage. Being a grammar policeman is fine as long as we’re a “kinder, gentler” grammar policeman (note: policeman implies both genders here).

Anyway, thank you, Mrs. McDowell, for the chuckle. I thoroughly enjoyed it!

Aunt Ruth Grammar attended a wonderful homeschool resources fair in Chapel Hill, NC, this afternoon — the first of many, I hope — and the standard question that was asked was indeed a very good question, namely, “What is the appropriate age group for this book (I Laid an Egg on Aunt Ruth’s Head)?”

In some ways, it would be nice to have an easy answer, like, “eighth grade,” or maybe “age 13 years 7 months and 12-15 days, no more, no less.”

As it is, though, the answer really is, “It depends.”

For the stories themselves, I believe there is no age restriction. There is a 6 year old girl at church who absolutely loves the stories (her dad reads them to her), and every week she tells me about the latest of Aunt Ruth’s adventures that she has read. Oh that warms my heart! I have also received a couple phone calls from seventy-year-olds who have delighted in telling me how much they enjoy the stories.

It is my hope that any age level will enjoy the stories. Of course, there are things that adult readers will catch (puns, etc.) that youngsters may miss.

Regarding the grammar lessons embedded in the stories, the answer really does depend on the reader. I’ve heard of 3rd and 4th graders getting the grammar lessons; I’ve heard of high schoolers using the book and “actually enjoying” the grammar points; and adults are getting it too.

My stock answer to the question is something like, “mid-high and up, but a good 3rd or 4th grade reader will find it helpful too,” and that still stands.

A local sixth grade teacher reads a story to her class at the end of each class period.

The stories are gentle and the stories are (all modesty aside) fun.

No one ever said that learning has to be fun, but there are areas (such as grammar) where a little fun can go a long way.

Try it, you’ll like it!