Having heard many stories of how people struck by lightning had personality changes, we decided to call Ocetnik to see how he's fared in the 10 months since the bolt entered via his head and exited via his leg.

Ocetnik was struck on Aug. 21, 2004, while participating in a Civil War reenactment in Woodstock. He and a fellow reenactor had taken cover under some trees from a fast-approaching storm. (Hmmm What was it mom said about the WORST place to run during a lightning storm?)

To this day, Ocetnik has no memory of the strike itself, just of being put into an ambulance for the trip to a hospital. Other than the entry and exit wounds, which now are just white scar patches, his only injury was the chunk he bit out of his tongue.

His friend, Donald Hamel, of Norwich, fared somewhat worse from the strike, but is now back at work and doing fine.

Here's a reasonable facsimile of our conversation with Ocetnik. If anything, the exchange may indicate the lightning stimulated the humor center in his brain.

Us: So, has your life been any different since you got struck?

Ocetnik: No, not really. Other than the scars on my head and leg.

Us: Have you or others noticed any personality changes?

Ocetnik: No. But I tell the women that I've got X-ray vision and it kind of shakes them up.

Us: So then your life is pretty much just like it was before you got hit?

Ocetnik: Yeah, I'm back to normal, although that may not be such a great thing.

Us: Do you

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still do Civil War reenactments?

Ocetnik: Yup. We try to do one a month.

Us: Well then, you were really lucky, right?

Ocetnik: Lucky? I haven't hit the Lotto or anything. Oh, a while back a seagull flew over and [ .] on me. Does that count?

Us: No.

We did not get a chance to tell Ocetnik about Harold Deal of South Carolina, who, after being jolted by a lightning strike a few years ago, never again felt pain (except, of course, psychological pain), even when he crushed his heel.

Scientists think that lightning survivors undergo personality changes because the electrical charge damages the frontal lobe of their brains. The most common changes are short-term memory loss and an inability to do the same tasks the person did before the strike. There are stories of deaf and blind people being able to see and hear after being struck. Ocetnik has experienced none of this. He's doing just fine at his old job making blades for Sikorsky helicopters. After speaking with Ocetnik, we thought about the actor Jim Caviezel, who — in one of the most portent-heavy events in recent memory — was struck by lightning while portraying Jesus in Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ." We couldn't find Caviezel's phone number, but it's interesting that he hasn't had many big parts since then.

Should you find yourself a lightning victim, and we sincerely hope you don't, a group called Lightning Strike and Electric Shock Survivors International is there to help. The group conducts — I mean, holds — an annual meeting for survivors, this year's was in Tennessee, to provide support from professionals who work with survivors and their families.

LSESSI can be reached through its Web site, www.lightning-strike.org.

Charles Walsh's column appears Monday, Wednesday and Friday. You can reach him by phone at 330-6217 or bye-mail at cwalsh@ctpost.com.