Earlier today, I attended the funeral of Alaster “A.J.” Dropper.

You probably won’t know who I’m talking about until I add, the five year old boy from Aberdeen who died after being locked in a car trunk Friday in the heat.

It was big in the media.

Today, though, there was no media, just grieving friends and families.

I accompanied A.J.’s father, Robert Wilfong of Sioux Falls, who my law office had done some work for.  I didn’t know Robert until yesterday when he came back to our office.

The little boy’s funeral is one of the most wrenching things I’ve ever observed.  Funerals are sad affairs but when it is a youngster who has died tragically, the sadness is almost unbearable.

A.J.’s Aunt Dina read a poem that A.J.’s mom Wendy wrote.  I don’t have the words but I remember some of the lines:

• “I wish I spent less time worrying about the love of power and more time teaching about the power of love.”

• “I wish I spent less time being firm and more time affirming.”

• “I wish I had given more hugs and fewer tugs.”

After the service, Dina told Robert, “A.J. taught us at least one thing today: it is never too late to love.  You don’t know what’s going to happen tomorrow.”

During a day that has seen a major political figure announce that one of his trusted employees embezzled, on a day when we wonder who runs a new media site, on a day when we wonder what happened to a local weathercaster, there truly are more important things in life.

Like, go hug your kids and tell them you love them.  Tell your spouse you love them.  Do something nice for someone else.  Life is too damn short and unpredictable not to.