Got into a fender-bender this morning ... with a snowbank. And it was of my own accord.

Yeah, that's a great way to start the day.

See, yesterday was bright and sunny, so all of the snow from Wednesday started to melt. Then last night the temperatures plunged - this morning at 7:15 it was still only 8 degrees Fahrenheit. So needless to say on the drive this morning the roads were an icy mess.

And while I don't want to put all of the blame on Brunswick Public Works, I'm not quite sure why they don't sand the roads up here. Did the price of dirt go through the roof this summer? Is Maine running out of gravel? Can we at least throw some pebbles from the ocean on the busier roads?

Either way, this morning McKeen Street in Brunswick was virtually an ice skating rink. Which is a challenge when you get to the four-way stop at Spring Street, next to the old high school.

When I got to there this morning a pickup truck was stopped in front of me. Four or five car-lengths out I started to brake.

Nothing.

Three car-lengths, pump the brakes.

Nothing.

Two car-lengths, downshift, scout for a soft-looking part of the snowbank on the right-hand curb, turn the wheel, brace for impact.

Crunch.

Dammit.

Now this is the part where I'm glad to be in Maine. I hadn't even gotten out of the car yet and a security guard from local Bowdoin College slows down, asks if I need help. One minute later I had four other men stopped to help. One had a big bushy beard and flannel shirt, like he was heading into (or out of) the woods, the other was bald in a shirt and tie, like he was a high school geometry teacher.

Before I could even stereotype the other two dudes I had five guys pushing my car out of the snowbank (which luckily was very soft, and only a foot tall).

And before I could hop out of my car to thank them, they were gone to the four cardinal points of the intersection.

Then I was on my way again.

Just like that.

I have to contrast these events with Dubai, where I doubt I'd get any help. And before you say, "but Josh, there are no snowbanks or icy roads in Dubai" you have to remember that we had sand.

Lots and lots of sand.

Because one day in Dubai when I was trying to sort out the whole 'equivalency of degree' thing for my MBA I actually did get stuck in the sand. It was the day I was running to-and-fro for my High School Equivalence Certificate (see High School Equivalence Certificate in Dubai).

Somehow I parked on the wrong side of the Dubai Ministry of Education building, in less of a parking lot than an empty lot. It wasn't paved at all - just sand. And keep in mind that we had a Toyota Echo, which pretty much had bike tires on it.

So as I had to leave the Ministry of Education to go to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs I got stuck. Wicked stuck. Tires-spinning, sand-flying stuck.

Do you think anyone helped me there?

Nope.

To be fair, however, I should point out a rather Dubaian dick driving move I saw yesterday on 295 here in Maine.

An SUV was actually backing up in the breakdown lane because it had missed the exit for the Falmouth Spur which leads to points south via Maine Turnpike.

Now, granted, the car had New Hampshire license plates, so clearly the driver wasn't a Mainer, but still, that move would have fit in perfectly in Dubai.

Although if that clown got stuck on the side of the road here at least someone would stop to help him out ...