NOTIONS: A suburban pay-me-now-or-pay-me-later story
Longer ago than I’d like to admit, my parents were expecting their first child (me). And they wanted their little guy to grow up in a nice, safe neighborhood. Mom and Dad weren’t earning much. But they borrowed a down payment from Grandpa, took out a whopping $80-per-month mortgage, and purchased a tiny, newly constructed house on the outskirts of Lafayette. My parents had grown up in the established parts of Lafayette. They knew well the old homes, old streets…