Dear Mr. Meisner
I feel very fortunate that there were a number of teachers I had during my childhood who made a real difference in my young life. Naturally, they probably never knew this, as the lessons they passed on were only recognizable with the passing of many years. One of those teachers was William Meisner, who passed away last week at the grand old age of 94. Mr. Meisner taught English in his 30+ years at Carlton High School, though I dare say Shakespeare was probably his favorite. I had the good luck to be in the last Shakespeare class Mr. Meisner ever taught in the Spring of 1984, his final year at CHS. He was unforgettable. Even now I can see him at his desk reading one of the parts from any number of plays, his hands gesturing, his chin jutting out, his words transformed by the characters he portrayed. In a bold move on my part, I tracked Mr. Meisner down to a Cloquet nursing home two summers ago because I wanted to give him a copy of the book I wrote, Addie Braver . In that story, Mr.