The 1st in a Series of 1 Reports on Pain at the Pump

"Now, I'm just going to work and coming home — not doing anything else," said Kathleen Roberts, who makes a daily, 100-mile round trip from York, Pa., to her teaching job in Baltimore.

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Hearing talk about short vacations upsets Susan Morang, a psychiatric counselor from Washington, Maine. She helps clients deliver antiques for sale during the summer tourism season.

"Each summer, you have to make the majority of your money to live on the whole rest of the year," said Morang, who has cut her driving to the minimum.

Morang's GMC truck guzzles gas, but she said she needs it to help clients haul their belongings. "A lady paid me $40 yesterday," she said. "I used it to fill my gas tank halfway."