The Gnus Room, A Landmark Worth Remembering in Auburn, Alabama

WAR EAGLE! I am about to boast about one of the greatest coffee dives in the southern United States. Upon entering the foyer of this historic landmark, the floor wooden planks shake a little bit with the rustling of autumn leaves, and you smell a nice library scent that reminds you of the days you never read your text book in Microeconomics until the night before the final exam (procrastinating a little bit as an undergraduate student should). There is something nostalgic about the smell of knowledge in the used books that surround the walls of this enclosed hidden nook. With the assistance of owner and general manager Tina Tatum, you will meet southern hospitality at its finest. This is really where my ambitions to be a writer, photographer, and speaker began. Tina humbly sat down to educate me on her vast knowledge of the literature world. She spent several years working for different publishing companies and demonstrates a keen understanding of how the industry operates, now affected and plagued by e-readers and torrents where books can easily be downloaded for free, maybe someday bringing out physical books to extinction. The Gnus Room reminds us of what is pure about the written word in the highlighted and ink splotched pages of a good book where notes are made and favorite quotes resonate with us, those reads that keep on speaking to us like a modern day version of To Kill A Mockingbird.

The Gnus Room hosts a plethora of different events, including but not limited to book signings, readings, social gatherings, musical performances (classical and acoustic) ….. probably more up-and-coming artists than the national famous ones, but occasionally Chad Gibbs, author of God and Football, or Karen Zacharias, who has written more books than I can count, will show up and simply remind us of our humble southern roots. If you have never been to the Gnu’s Room, it is a true treasure where every cup is made fresh and every bean is roasted artistically to quench the taste buds of any coffee enthusiast. Whether you live in Auburn or are just passing through, you do not want to miss a small landmark that stands in the stillness of Samford Tower’s shadow. You will fall in love with a place that feels like home if you were that nerd that lived in the library like me and perhaps on some free Saturday afternoons still does.

Please attend my signing not just to hear some poetry and buy my book (as much as I would love that) but to contribute to the local culture of Auburn. Nowhere will you find a more authentic cup of coffee, possibly stronger than what you are used to because the French Press savors the taste of every bean and every grind. Nowhere will you experience such kind people who do not just serve coffee. They listen to students complain about how much school stinks (or having to work and study for school stinks), how a professor grades unfairly, or perhaps even how the latest crush has broken a heart. These individuals, including Mama Mocha, do not waste their breath striving to be famous or rich. They own a coffee shop to serve students and show that they care about people. It is like Cheers in the truest sense, just not a bar. Instead of helping people sleep in the sulkiness of a drunken stupor, they assist to help us stay awake to finish an entire book the night before an exam to make an A in that Microeconomics class. And yes, when I was in undergrad, I did in fact accomplish such a feat with the aid of some nice brewed coffee. Now join me for another event to celebrate a small accomplishment in my venture to one day become a nationally-recognized author. The Gnus Room supported me when I was a nobody. I will certainly support them when I am a somebody.

The information for the signing is as follows:

James Cartee Live and In – Person

Presenting Twenty-Three: In the Beginning.

Friday, October 28 from 7:00 pm to 9:15 pm

@ The Gnus Room

414 South Gay Street
Auburn, AL 36830
(334) 821-5550

Monologues to Taylor - The First Letter

Taylor,

First of all, I listen to your music all the time at work while I should be making outbound calls to potential students, but listening to music while I write fictional letters to Taylor Swift is so much more fun. About three – four weeks ago I sent the cookie bouquet in the picture above to a unique girl down in Florida, and frankly I was quite proud of the mack move of being creatively thoughtful. The food made bouquet was themed to recognize and wish her luck on her first day teaching school. I thought I would for sure of have gotten a “Thank you” in return. She never said, “Thank you.” Can you believe that? It sounds like one of your songs about a jerk-boyfriend (Why you got to be so mean?). Through your actions as a celebrity (for instance hugging over 16,000 people), you seem quite different. I was not expecting the girl to acknowledge my presence and fall into my arms while we sailed off into the sunset on horseback. Even if I never spoke to you in person, I am sure you would have your assistant call me to speak with a cordial “thank you.” I believe an epidemic has rapidly spread over this country where individuals feel that they deserve what they get without a grateful spirit to simply say, “Thank you.”

I will admit that this letter will be my attempt to get a date with you. I heard you are dating the werewolf-dude from Twilight. Well, while he may look good in a swimsuit calendar, he has nothing on what I am going to do in life through my relationship with Christ. I mean, really, who believes in werewolves and vampire teenage love? That just sounds silly hearing it. While many laugh at my absurd dreams (meaning they think it will never happen), I believe in the fulfillment of dreams, and I worship a big God. I believe you are one of the few celebrities in the world who does not think and/or act like you are better than the fans who cheer for you. So the Taylor Swift monologues begin to grab dinner with another individual who has a big heart to change thousands of live. I desire to do so in God's name and will one day when I plant a church and write books to inspire. I am still in the process of coming up – one day at a time. I choose to believe in the impossible. Dream big, or do not dream at all. God closes doors and opens doors. I will leave that up to Him. “God does not require that we succeed; he only requires that we try.” - Mother Teresa.

I guess like my crazy friends from Auburn I will one day get that hug.

James L. Cartee

"TWO THUMBS DOWN.....like sour milk!" -ZO- (in reference to the picture below)

Be Patient in Suffering

“Brothers and sisters, as an example of patience in the face of suffering, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. As you know, we count as blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Job’s perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy.” James 5:10-11

We all have pruning-like experiences where we grow because our patience is tested day in and day out by forces uncontrollable to us. Suffering occurs on different levels. A leader in an organization may be on your shoulders through micromanagement, or a loved one may be diagnosed with cancer. Whatever the case, I am learning through the pruning process of a Heavenly Father that good things have yet to come. If you remain obedient where you are in the present moment, I truly believe God will honor that. I continue to pray that God will deliver me from certain current circumstances, and instead of trying to speed up the process as quickly as possible, I must be patient in the process for God’s move. And when God acts, then I will be ready to move on….because I will have learned patience to wait on God’s timing. More perseverance and growth as an individual will have been achieved, and after pruning has occurred, fruit will be born. And life will move onto the rewards God has in store as the blessings of patience and obedience are bestowed. That is what I learned waking up this morning.

Top Gun (Or Perhaps-Make-Fun-Of) Leaders

I think we would all like to be Maverick from the movie, Top Gun. He does after all seem so cool, and he does get that hot girl!

I previously posted a blog entry on seven differences between good and bad leaders. This is a subject that continues to be on my mind as I learn what a follower of Christ would do. It is ironic how we learn from those we wish not to be like – we can almost learn as much from them as we do our most dedicated of mentors in our lives.

I keep a constant eye on Michael Hyatt’s blog (the Chairman of Thomas Nelson Publishers, the largest Christian publishing company in the country), and he recently posted an entry on keeping an organization’s top talent. You might think this was the goal of every company, but then again you might be surprised by how many good employees leave a company, sometimes choosing unemployment as opposed to having employment.

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I will never forget the instance when a leader I know told me (someone who I did greatly respect), “I am too busy to help that individual. I have my own business to take care of it. You can deal with it – so do it!” I was trying to have a supervisor step in so the client was not lost, but losing a smaller client apparently did not matter to this individual. I am firm believer that you must practice what you preach. Do not claim to have an open door policy if you really never have one. I believe there is often a paradox between those claiming to have some type of leadership philosophy when their example would suggest otherwise, living the life of a double-standard or what many have referred to as an “Indian-giver,” perhaps the worst of names one could be called on the elementary playground. I am okay if one does not have an open door policy as long as they do not claim to. In others, do not claim to be something you are if you in fact in reality are not whatever you claim. As the old saying, do not talk the talk if you cannot walk the walk.

In my experience, I have seen members of an organization perform at their best when they are comfortable with their leader to talk about anything. If you cannot approach a leader confidently and openly, then passion is lost. Morale is down. And you kiss hard work as it walks out the door.

I have seen and noticed several leaders who have thousands hanging at his or her every word, but they never acknowledge that their followers exist. They do not talk to them because they can only socialize with the higher circles of infrastructure or reputation.

Three instances come to mind with two of my mentors. One is the Vice President of an elite organization of business professionals here in Birmingham, Alabama. I was referred to his contact information by a mutual acquaintance in the nonprofit world – never once did he turn me away by pretending he was better than me. Quite the opposite, he gave me homework assignments to better seek and build my relationship with the Lord until he decided I was not going away. I did not understand why he had me do what I do, but I still respected him enough to do it. Another mentor serves as the President of a coalition that serves to assist orphan nonprofits through training, seminars, and national conference. I actually got an email from him asking if I wanted to serve through an unpaid internship. As a recent Masters graduate, I almost laughed at the idea of doing another unpaid internship, but then God blessed my work and my relationship with this amazing individual and organization. While I have paid my dues with both these mentors, they never ever once turned me away because they were too busy. They realize they are human and humble servants of God and therefore act like it.

Thirdly, I will never forget the image of Senior Pastor David Platt at the Church of Brook Hills and author of his recent New York best-selling book, Radical. (I hope he does not mind me using him as an example here). While tuning up the band with usual Sunday worship songs, he fell to his knees with his face as low as he could press to the ground, truly and reverently glorifying God where all of us should be with our face to the ground. When on the ground and at the lowest the points in our lives (where only God can rescue us), the only place we can go from there is up. I have also seen and understood that David never turns anyone away that wants to speak with him. He has a line after all his sermons with three services a Sunday, and each time I have visited he has always spoken to everyone until the last person left. Now these three men represent true Mavericks in a sense of the word. They are successful because the Lord honors what they do for Him. I do not know about you, but that is the kind of leader I want to be.

I want those who follow me to feel comfortable and to always feel that I have an open door policy – never feeling that I see myself as higher than them, that I do not have time claiming to be too busy, or that I think I am better than them. I do not lead because I have a badge to do so. I lead because of the person I am in Christ. I will respect, obey, and follow the authority I serve under whether I agree with them or not, but when I arrive, I will remember to be the leader through Christ that perhaps they could not be.