Yet many others first learned of him after Tuesday, when a man -- whom authorities haven't identified, but neighbors and news outlets say is 65-year-old retired truck driver and Vietnam veteran Jimmy Lee Dykes -- approached his bus in Midland City.

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It may not be the noblest part of our nature, but taking a financial bath is a little more palatable when you can look around and see your neighbors got wet, too.

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And when we shop small, we not only get great products and services, but we support our neighbors and strengthen our local economies.

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That didn't affect the Perrys, but their neighbors at Marina Bay, Sally and Keith Huzyak, used the mortgage deduction to the max when they combined the mortgage on their primary home, a Lake Tahoe condo, and their 66-foot Pollycraft motor yacht, the Bes-ame ("kiss me" in Spanish).

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