At home in her kitchen (this can‘t be right?) in Iroquois Ridge, I find the mother of three is proâ€" foundly down to earth. On two separate occasions in the past four years, I have witnessed her assorted antics. She is a tonic. Bertuzzi Luciani (hence forth to be known as Bertuzzi in this article) has been a popular conference speaker since 1986. When the statâ€" uesque University of Waterloo recreation grad clips on a mic, she proceeds to fill any room. With her voice, her raucous laugh, her ingeâ€" nious props, and exuberant body language, first she gets your attenâ€" tion â€" and then she hammers away on your funny bone. Hooting, chortling, shouting, pacing about like a madwoman... I am exhausted thinking about it. "Don‘t take off your shoes," she says flatly, "your feet will stick to the floor." J T here is a word for Carole 1 Bertuzzi Luciani and the . _word is ‘big‘. Big name, big ideas, big heart, and at 5â€"footâ€"11 inch barefoot (though rarely in the kitchen), she is one big lady. And proud of it, I hasten to add. Nothing small in Carole‘s world PROOFING WITH ALL HALF SOLES STRETCHING Retlremqnt wasn_’l'fâ€_f’_â€me sell and move out. We can help design a REVERSE MORTGAGE that meets your indiâ€" vidual wants. For many Canadian Homeowners, their home is a major asset and an important part of their nestegg. The question is how do they tap into the equity without having to in d13 22 "This is not a product, it‘s a lifesavert" _projfessionals in financial planning" pair For information call â€" 338â€"7283 Don Barnes Mrs. D., Oakville "I am not funny 24 hours a day," she confides, somewhat unnecessarâ€" ily. "The worst thing for me is when someone says, ‘So I hear you‘re a speaker. You‘re that funny lady‘. The more people who come on to me, the shyer I become." Last year, she did 65 presentaâ€" tions to literally hundreds of people from all walks of life â€" from bankers to social workers, from sorority girls to senior citizens. Still she confesses to being nervous about this interview. With all her brashness and good humor, there is a vulnerability about her private life which is... unexpected. A certain intensity beties her spontaneous speaking persona. ‘cleaning‘. Her husband Joe, a teacher, does all the cooking. For further information contact your local Big Sisters Association or call 1â€"800â€"461â€"BSAO This is interesting to see Bertuzzi OF CANADA BigSisters Humor is a big thing with the former teacher and hospital P.R. Bertuzzi counsels people on ‘balâ€" ancing their lives‘, and ‘coping with difficult others‘, and ‘revitalizing their workplaces‘, relying heavily on the everyday trials and tribulaâ€" tions of her own life. She talks about being "big for her age", for example, and then going "premaâ€" turely grey". She speaks (as I hope to write someday) from the heart with insight, passion, and humor. Her own workplace is an office in the basement of her home, an (dare I say it?) overâ€"sized closet and cornucopia of memorabilia and books. It has a drain in the middle of the floor and a unique view of the underside of the backyard deck. This is not to say that her speakâ€" ing persona is phony, she maintains. Far from it. "I could never fake it," she says earnestly. "Every story I tell I have lived. But it‘s all magniâ€" fied." actingâ€"out in front of a room full of howling people and eating up the laughter; you would not think she was shy. NWd 00‘9 111Â¥ SONINIAT 8 SAVOITOH AÂ¥VONNS AH3A3 J9IVHYY INMYYd 3H1L INIQN1IYX3 11IIMMYO NMOLNMOG LNOHINOYHL DONT FORG ET THAT $ EXCLUDING THE PARKING GARAGE yo GO (located in Trafalgar Village) 125 Cross Ave. (See ‘Woman‘ page 18) COMPLIMENTS OF YOUR DOWNTOWN OAKVILLE BIA AND YOUR DOWNTOWN BUSINESSES 844â€"4520 Roab East koBison STREET Carole Bertuzzi Luciani