Interesting BBC programme Wednesday about lightning - apparently the charge travels through moisture on the skin to ground, brain scans of survivors appear normal but brain function scans show significant changes - response activity of a right-handed person you'd expect to find on the left occurs on the right-hand of the brain etc - as if it's been re-circuited. (These are only direct strikes Don!)
Lightning's on the increase over built-up areas due to pollution (more dust particles=more water/ice droplets) but it may have played a part in our creation through amino acids released in strikes in the primordial sludge.