It was at the opening of the Rotorua Novotel on Valentine's Day back in the day and I was there as chairman of a tourism board, but more so because it was built by a mate, one of life's good buggers, Ray Cook, a community kingpin of Rotorua.
While we were doing all the curtsies and kia oras with a few sawasdees (Thai greeting) thrown in to appease the Buddhist prince's gods, I noticed a big bugger standing between me and the then Prime Minister, Jim Bolger, who was the ribbon-cutter for the occasion.
Sir Howard was holding the floor, as was par for the course, trying to jack up a well-paying gig up in Thailand, so I turned around and introduced myself to the big fulla standing next to me.
After he worked out I wasn't the hired help or trying to help myself to all the free food and fine wine, we got talking about each other's whakapapa, who we both knew and who wasn't paying for the privilege of being at the flashest do Rotorua had seen mai rano (for a long time).
Turns out we both hailed from the kingdom of Te Puna here in the rohe of Pirirakau in Tauranga Moana and, amazingly, my mum and dad had worked for his mum and dad, as had many local Maori in Te Puna, so we hit it off like a couple of hot hangi stones cooking up a great korero.
I remember saying to myself, this man has mana like his dad and, one day, he will become the man he is looking after right in front of me - the Prime Minister of New Zealand.
Sadly, his dad Mike Muller will not see that happen as he passed away this week and tomorrow, we will farewell a true totara of Te Puna who held the respect of many Maori who he treated all equally.
My Mum and Dad were well into their sunset years when they worked for the Mullers and, without their kindness and respect, life would have been a struggle.
Mike Muller was a man of his word, as is his son Todd. He put his kids into the local Maori convent school and they grew up knowing and understanding Maori culture and kai in the form of hearty sandwiches that were often shared - sometimes without Todd knowing.
It was only a matter of days ago that Mike sat on the front row of our paepae at Tutereinga Marae, as we bade farewell to another community leader, Maria Ngatai, both of them developing lifelong relationships built on respect.
In a world that seems to be getting crazier by the day - with even crazier people in charge and disasters dominating the headlines - there is shelter from the storm. It comes as a refuge when we take time to reflect on the good people in our lives, like Mike Muller, who held and gave respect as a currency of success.
If I were to take my political potae off for a moment and put on the potae of hope for a leader who has the mana to take this country to a place where we treat each other with respect, it would be on Mike's boy.
No, I am not a Tory hori, far from it.
I will always support the party that has a voice at the seat of decision making for Maori, however, I do recognise and support those political leaders who treat our Maori politicians with respect.
What I do know is the rangatira who has looked after Waiariki for the past 12 years has treated and been treated by his partners in Parliament with respect and that is a currency we should all measure our vote by.
If we are to become the country that can show the world how to look after each other, just as Mike Muller looked after his own back yard, then it starts with whom we vote in as our leaders.
Here in the Bay with plenty of leaders putting their names on billboards, we must vote wisely and strategically, to ensure that korowai of respect at the highest-level covers us all.
Moe moe ra Mike.
Tommy Kapai is a best-selling author and local writer.
tommykapai@gmail.com
