[ubertakter]

I guess I'll chime in on being closer to strikes. In case you don't know how a strike occurs, as the charges build up and the field starts having enough potential to exceed the breakdown voltage of the air, little "feelers" develop, extending both from the cloud and objects on the ground. When two connect, if you are close enough, you can here what sounds like a very loud click, immediately followed by the "explosion" of thunder. More like a blast/explosion that what you would hear from farther away.

Also, look in to "ground potential rise", which I learned all about after a lightning strike in my yard (while I was standing on the second floor of my house). Basically, the charge dissipates in the ground around a strike. This means that radially from the strike outward there is a voltage potential. And of course if you connect two points across the potential with less resistance than the ground, you get current flow. Incidentally, this is why you keep your feet as close together as possible if caught outside in a storm. And of course crouch so you aren't the tallest thing around.