Credit is Due: Vyzygoth & The Grassy Knoll by Angie Riedel

We were moved by this tribute to our friend Vyz written by Angie Riedel and appearing on her pbsBlog this week. We hope she doesn't mind us republishing it here, because we feel the same way.

One of the best things that can happen to us as we go through life, is having the luck to stumble across really great people. People who end up making a difference in our lives, in a really good way. In this age of technology it's not even necessary to meet someone in person to be able to partake of what they're doing in the world and to benefit profoundly from that work.

Today I want to introduce you to someone who deserves recognition for being one of these extraordinary people. He is known as Vyzygoth and he does a radio program on the internet called The Grassy Knoll.

Vyz's radio program is unlike any other. Besides being commerical free, his show provides his listeners with a launch pad to understand the real world. The diversity of his guests and the wide range of topics he covers are the most significant learning tool I have ever discovered. Simply put, Vyzygoth is a catalyst to empowered self learning he deserves recognition for his contribution to our times and our lives. It is absolutely true that anyone who listens to him regularly, even for a short period of time, will come away forever changed.

I found The Grassy Knoll archives on the A-Infos web site about a year or so ago, then went to Vyzygoth's website where I listened to the current archives which he leaves freely available to all who are interested in hearing them. There was a heck of a lot there of real importance. I was introduced to a wide range of things about life in America that many of us know absolutely nothing about.

Many of the guests on his show talked about things I found fascinating and I often wanted to find out more about what they were saying. I quickly learned to make sure I had a good chunk of time set aside before visiting the archives because it always happened that one thing would lead to another and I would end up on a voyage of discovery that sometimes lasted for days.

My own journey of self-education about the real way that things happen in the real world has been going on for 2-1/2 years, and I have learned a lot. Vyzygoth's Grassy Knoll weekday show has played a significant part in my process of becoming informed; and how many radio programs can you say that about?

The first thing I got about Vyz was that he knew a whole lot about the world. He knows history and current events and he's obviously an avid reader. I felt like a neophyte rube when I first listened to him because I often knew little or nothing of what he was talking about. This spurred me to do my homework and get informed about literally countless things that I now understand play a pivotal role in how this world works. His "regular guy" voice made me feel welcome, but I had to listen for a long time before I sheepishly emailed him to let him know how much I appreciated his show. I didn't expect a reply but I got one.

One could easily get the impression that Vyz has plenty of time on his hands because he responds to the emails he receives and at times will put substantial time and energy into these electronic conversations. It wasn't until I was a guest on his show that I began to realize how huge his audience really is, based on the number of visits that came to my websites after the show. It knocked my socks off.

Vyz is an enabler in the right way. He seeks to connect with his community, and then to inter-connect his community. He asks for nothing in return. He is consistent, sincere, and one knows that he is what he seems to be, there is no facade there, he wears his heart on his sleeve.

Always the gentleman, he is genuinely free of egotistical behavior, and he always treats people with courtesy. He talks to people who have vast amounts of specialized in depth knowledge in a way that always puts the spot light on the guest, allowing them the free space and time to relate substantial chunks of useful information and which also allows the guest to become a presence of note to the listener. It is wonderful the way Vyz assumes such an unaffecting role, but it cannot and never does camouflage his own amazing breadth of knowledge and understanding of so many things.

It's almost difficult to express my appreciation for Vyz and his body of work. I have grown to really admire this man. His strong sense of ethics, his wonderful sense of humor, his ability to cut to the hidden heart of the matter, his excellent instincts, his uncanny knack of seeing what others may not see, and his skills as a radio host all combine to create a gift of substance and uniqueness, something that is personally useful and important to me, and I want to thank him for all of it. He deserves to be acknowledged for his very real contribution to us. I know that Keith Hansen is a very admired and well liked person to so many people from all over the world, and on so many different levels.

For recognition of excellence in your work Vyz, accept my heart felt gratitude, appreciation and affection. You're one of a kind and you have changed my life for the better in a way no one else ever has.

Angie Riedel