I love 658 Monroe Avenue because it was our home. Still is, in some ways. When I dream, I am often there — in that solid, wood-framed house tucked between the city and the church. The walls held laughter, prayer, and the hum of hymns that filled the evenings. If every place has a spirit, this one was wrapped in Scripture and song.

“When his branch is yet tender… ye know that summer is nigh.”  — Matthew 24:32 Rudolph Kalis with his three sons — Bob, Don, and little Kenny. (Image source: “A Man of His Word,” by Kenneth Kalis) I Every branch begins tender. Before strength comes testing, and before testing comes nurture. For me, those tender years were rooted in a big yellow house on Monroe Avenue in Elizabeth, New Jersey — noisy, crowded, full of life — and always under the loving shadow of my father’s