pawning stuff for gas

[oceania]

South Florida Sun-Sentinel

May 3, 2006

For Cary Holder, a tank full of gas is worth more than watching movies in his Chevrolet Astro van.

The construction worker recently took his van's DVD player to Cash America Pawn in Lauderdale Lakes so he could buy fuel.

"I'm on E," said Holder, 48, of Lauderdale Lakes. "These gas prices are killing us. I have to drive to Boca and Miami." As fuel prices climb above $3 a gallon, pawnbrokers are seeing more customers like Holder. People are trading jewelry, tools and electronics for gas money.

"This morning there was a contractor who pawned his tool set to go out to a job," said Jack Mulvihill of Action Pawnbrokers, in the 3700 block of N. Andrews Avenue in Oakland Park.

"Many of the roofers in town are pawning roofing tools for gas for their trucks. We had a teacher pawn a television set."

sad state of affairs :!