my mom told me about the town in italy her father came from. she said it was in the mountains - near a tuberculosis sanitarium - the air was better up there - thomas mann's mountains - my grandfather's family was from a village that was filled with manic depressives - an entire town of way up and way down - that is why my grandfather took long walks in reno, punched holes in walls, punched people. an entire village - in italy? i said to my mother if everyone had the same sickness how did they know they were sick? look at the vikings - people don't think they were mentally ill - just a product of their environment. my mother's father didn't get off easy - strapped to a bed - electric shock that didn't do much. and mom - who has tuberculosis - compromised on the upper east side - i can't whisk her away to the matterhorn, in fact she's too afraid to use the laundry room. she starts to growl when telling me about the building's sign up sheet