Honor and Dishonor

Fathers remembered and those possibly best forgotten are in the news on Memorial Day.

One of many honorable men remembered today is Joe Lippi, killed during the Battle of the Bulge, who left his days-old son behind. Lippi Jr. was the fortunate recipient of odd circumstances — an Army friend of his father was being treated by a nurse friend of the son 60-plus years and on an opposite coast from where Sr. last saw Jr. Thanks to that friend, Lippi Jr., along with his father's (now his, as well) friend Art Mahler, is spending the holiday visiting his dad's Belgium gravesite.

For reasons that should weigh on their conscience, executives at VH1 have done some counterprogramming to honor. The channel debuts Dad Camp this evening. Ostensibly it is all about the rehab and retracking of boys into the men capable of taking care of their baby mommas and offspring. In reality (as in reality tv) there are just six couples unprepared to do anything but be spectacle and a smarty pants whose job is to guide viewers into enjoying how much higher-planed their own lives are.