Well, it's time to break out the bottle of L'Oreal gray hair covering solution again. My middle son just turned 15 1/2 and another of my offspring will soon be behind a steering wheel.

I always wonder whether I should be upfront with the boys about my experiences when I was learning to drive.

Should I tell them about the time I had my permit and my dad allowed me to drive the station wagon on a family vacation? Should I mention that that particular ride ended up with me over-correcting the steering wheel several times and my family sitting in stunned silence as I came to arather abrupt stop in a ditch on the side of the road?

Or should I mention the fact that I learned to drive in the days when big wedgie shoes with huge rubber soles were popular -- and that my driver's ed teacher said it was OK to learn to drive barefoot?

Should I then tell them that when I went for my driver's test at the DMV, the examiner insisted that I wear the aforementioned massive-soled footwear? Would I then have to confess how many times I ended up inadvertently slamming on the brakes with my unfamiliar footgear and that I did not pass the behind-the-wheel driver's test on my first try? Or should I let them learn to drive under the pretense that their mother is one of the most skilled and knowledgeable drivers in the western United States, whose knowledge of traffic law is flawless, and who has never, and will never, make a mistake while behind the wheel? In the end, I did not choose denial or fabrication; I chose substitution. I chose to use the memorable drivers-in-training experiences of others to inspire and educate my about-to-be newly minted driver.

Lori Courtney of Upland said her father taught her how to drive in a stick-shift car.

"I will never forget the day he had me drive up a sloped street while towing a motorcycle trailer," Courtney said. "I popped the clutch, stalled and rolled backwards at least 3 times as Dad sat there calmly and I totally freaked out."

Jason Neufeld of Fontana remembers roaring up to the curb of the DMV in his hot rod '66 Mustang and seeing a look of fear and trepidation spread across the previously stoic face of the woman who would be his examiner. "I passed the behind-the-wheel test with a score of 100 percent, though," Neufeld said.

Judy Christopher of Alta Loma said, "What I remember most in driver's training was learning how to parallel park. Even though I learned how to drive in a station wagon, I was always really good at it. To this day I can parallel park really well, it's just driving forward that I have a hard time with." Ralph Kies of Etiwanda remembers that when he was learning to drive, he put off the most terrifying of driving tasks as long as he could.

"Driving on the freeway just seemed liked the scariest thing to me. But then, after I did it and I finally got off the freeway, I felt like I could conquer the world."

Next week, another of my sons will begin conquering the world of driving. I just hope the stores are all stocked up on L'Oreal - medium brown.

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