Books: 18 Best Stories by Edgar Allan Poe

I've had the privilege of learning from some very fine English teachers over the years. There was Mr. Dellapenna, whose friendly manner and love of learning led to me play the grasshopper in a production of "James and the Giant Peach." There was Ms. Ostaffe, who put up with my antics so she could unearth the writer beneath. And then there was Ms. Mickey.

Ms. Mickey wasn't very popular with the administration, but our class loved her. Irreverent, traditional, and witty, she sometimes got so frustrated with the principal that she'd kick desks around. One thing she did know, however, was literature, and English class was a joy because of it.

On her final day, we all said our heartfelt goodbyes. She gave me a very special gift - I could keep whichever books I wanted from the classroom library. I snagged many classics, of course - the Cohen translation of "Don Quixote," "Great Expectations," "The Lord of the Flies." But the one I read on the ride home was "18 Best Stories by Edgar Allan Poe," a collection of some of Poe's best work.

We had all read stories like "The Tell-Tale Heart" and "The Pit and the Pendulum." But here was a treasure trove of some of the most evocative short stories ever written - "The Cask of Amontillado," The Fall of the House of Usher," and, of course, "The Masque of the Red Death" (my personal favorite).

I don't know where Ms. Mickey is now. But whenever I'm crawling into the earth to find that Amontillado, I think of her.