It was always a big deal, the opening of Parliament. Schools were closed and students, police and other dignitaries (and a lot of curious on lookers like me) lined the streets as the King and Parliament members arrived and left. 

A beautiful photo of the Royal Chapel interior. Sadly the Royal Chapel (see photo below) was destroyed by a cyclone in the 1980’s.

This photo, in particular, reminds me of a day in 1974, soon after I arrived.  It still makes me smile when I think of it. I had walked up to the entry gate to get a good photo of the palace. I took the picture and then as I was walking away I was the recipient of a classic Tongan “tisst”  and then another “tisst” (all fellow PCV’s who served in Tonga know exactly what I am talking about). I turned around thinking I had done something wrong and that I was going to the big house for whatever law I had broken. My brain was shouting to me to RUN, but where the hell could I possibly run to? The guard beckoned me over to his post. It was time to face my accuser. He looked at me and then, after what seemed like a very long pause (probably three seconds) he snapped to attention and said, “Take my picture”.

Soon I would realize that this would be the norm over the next two years. If you had a camera in your hand, it didn’t matter if they ever saw the photo, they just wanted to have the photo taken. Needless to say, I took his photo, received a “Malo” and walked off happy in the fact that I was still a free man.