Well, here I was yesterday, sitting on the couch working on my GFG just before lunch during a thunder storm, when an almighty blast and huge flash just outside our living room window!! The electricity blew- I jumped out of my skin-sewing box on my lap went flying-DH yelled "a tree's on fire" and ran down the stairs to get the hose to put it out. Luckily, it hit a coconut palm which was lush and green, so it was contained (it was only a few feet from the house). The bolt of lightening hit the tree, hit the sidewalk next to the house and took an huge chunk out of it, bolts chewed paths in the grass from the tree base to the sidewalk, and fried the telephone lines in to the house-the main box on the other side of the house blew off and burned the wires. Then we discovered it also ruptured a hot water pipe, so a downstairs room was flooding. The repairmen came pretty quick, eventually got the water pipe fixed (after 3 hours of jack-hammering concrete to get to it!!), the electric guys were there until way after dark last night, trying to get us some power so we at least had some lights and fans, and were back early this morning. At lunch today, they still didn't have it sorted. We have no phones (olr internet) and the phone guys say there are many places they have to sort out before they get to us!! I have never been so scared-and living here for 19 years, we have had pleanty of lightening and thunder storms, just NEVER had a bolt hit so close!!! I shook for hours after!!