(Tui Atua Tupua Tamasese, Tuutuu i le Loloto Hall, 13 October 2021) - Goshen Trust Day

Thank you for inviting me to speak.  I almost did not come for reasons I prefer not to speak about.  I came because somebody over the coverage of your program today posed the question:  Where is Tupua?  When the question was posed I immediately thought of the biblical story about Samuel where the critical issue was the question: Where are you?  

Here I am.    I came to say thank you to Mental Health.  Over the years I have spoken and written a lot about mental health.    I’ve learnt more about myself and about my God and about the right answer to the question: Where is Tupua?

Well, I am here now.  I feel I am qualified to tell the following story by my grandfather.  In the loony house, one loony says, I am Napoleon.  Another loony says, who said?  The other responds, God did!  And a voice at the back said, I never did!

I feel I can get away with that story because I too am a loony and I want to celebrate with you the powerful words of the American poet Tennessee Williams:

    We are the geeks and gooks of creation

    Believe it or not is our star

    And no one is mistaken

    Because all of us are.

I came to say very simply from one loony to the other, I love you.