We've still got it pretty good here in the USA

It's good to be back on American soil — even if our economy is in shambles, we're still losing jobs, the stock market remains squirrelly, gas prices recently climbed and nothing really changed with the Utah Jazz.

My poor lawn needs a good blade taken to it and for the first time since I can remember, I've not held a golf club for nearly the entire month of June.

But I've got to say, returning to this country after a month abroad is comforting, even satisfying. Home, sweet home. We've got it pretty good here. Happy upcoming Independence Day.

Europe is beautiful. It's got a ton of great old stuff. But This is the Place.

I got tired of TV soccer and rugby and news of guys in tight bike shorts. I got sick scrounging for bare snippets and morsels of the rain-delayed U.S. Open. This week in England, it was almost funny listening to the British moan over everyone but their guys winning at Wimbledon.

We've got better roads, better food, Internet access, and lower prices on just about every item you can imagine.

The day I left for Europe (with stops in France, Estonia, Finland, Latvia and England) it was the morning of the big news conference by Washington blue chip prep quarterback Jake Heaps trumpeting his oral commitment, and that of Ross Apo and Zac Stout to BYU's class of 2010.

Seems like ages ago.

By the time I returned to Utah about 2 a.m. Wednesday after a 30-hour travel agenda, the Cougars had six more commitments for 2010 including the latest from Lone Peak linebacker Sae Tautu and Granger lineman Manu Mulitalo, and two juniors from the class of 2011 pledged to sign with Bronco Mendenhall.

You can stay connected around the world. But it costs.

The best country in the world for Internet contact may be Estonia, especially the capital city of Tallinn. These people love America and its technology. They have WiFi hot spots in gas stations out in the middle of nowhere.

Estonians invented Skype, the program that allows free Internet calls all over the world at the touch of a mouse or keypad. It was here, I learned the first news of BYU basketball coach Dave Rose and his bout with pancreatic cancer more than two weeks ago, just days after standing on the No. 11 tee with the coach at Riverside Country Club.

Internet access in other countries is limited and costly, like 1 Euro ($1.40) for 30 minutes. In England at a Marriott Hotel the Internet rate was 12 pounds a day, about $18 dollars, or 3 pounds for 30 minutes.

In Paris, McDonald's hamburger stops were the best bet to access free hotspots and I found it the most popular eating establishment downtown by Parisians and tourists as restaurant owners at quaint but expensive establishments stood outside their doors waving passers-by to please come in. At McDonald's, the lines were six bodies deep.