The Energy Department says the average price for a gallon of regular gasoline will be $3.365 this summer.

We'd take that now.

''Holy crap,'' grumbled Uniontown's Mike Eggert when he spotted the sign advertising $3.459 for regular unleaded gas at a Speedway on Massillon Road. ''You know what's scary about this is it could wipe out the economy of this country.''

A sales manager, Eggert said fuel prices are crippling to those who spend so much time on the road trying to make a living. Though his sales people get a gas allowance, it doesn't come close to matching how much they are actually paying at the pumps.

On Tuesday, Eggert missed saving 22 cents a gallon by about five minutes. Sometime around 2 p.m., the prices at this Speedway in Green jumped to reflect what many other stations were already charging.

Massillon's Trevor Groff had put off buying gas earlier in the day, hoping this station would be cheaper. Often, he said, the price here is one of the lowest in the area.

Though the sign read $3.459, the price on the pump was still at $3.239 when Groff began filling his tank.

''I'm thrilled,'' the 26-year-old said, noting it's a pretty bad when a guy can get excited about paying that much for fuel. He remembers when he was 17 and was only paying 89 cents a gallon.

''Now look at it,'' he lamented, watching the price on the pump change to match the advertised amount.

You might have heard gas prices could reach $4 by summer. That's not wrong; $3.365 is just an average. The Energy Department said because of oil-supply concerns, it's very possible that when the mercury climbs, so will gas prices, topping out at more than $4 a gallon.

Three-year-old Laken Ewert of Greentown was screaming when she came out of the little store at Speedway. Her mother, Monica, refused to buy her candy.

''That's how I feel about the price of gas,'' mom Monica said, nodding to her bawling daughter. ''Everybody has something to say about (Bill) Clinton's personal life while in office, but gas prices were 99 cents a gallon and my husband was never laid off.''

And it's not as if drivers have a choice, a disgusted Monica added.

At another pump, Barberton's Gloria Booth, who's on a fixed income, removed the gas cap from her Dodge Stratus and stuck the nozzle inside.

Her comment: ''This really sucks.''

Listen carefully. That sucking sound might just be fifty-dollar bills disappearing out of your wallet.