The three wise men are down to two. (John Rogers aka Yardhippie)

[mouth 0]

One of my favorite Yippie stories. That night he was absolutely above the top.

I loved the fact that he said only I could call him Yippie. He'd call every so often just to say HI and hear me yell YIPPIE.

Fly Free Yippie.

--
Hot Mama
At least you know where you stand even if it is in a pile of shit.

[Amazon 7]

Damn....BSBD

P.S....man I bet some folks are havin a welcome party.. and duuuuuude... try not to piss Shannon off will ya...

[jacsmit 0]

What sad news. I will always remember the days at WTS with yardhippie! He was a fun, loving guy. He will be missed.

Blue Skies John.

[pyke 0]

Quote

When I think of Hippie I think of a smooth fun cool party guy and a badass flier.

Embarrassing Hippie story:

Agreed...my Hippie story involved the weekend that he and Kitty were going to jump 30 jumps for their 30th birthday.

They were both charging hard at their goal, and it was well into the day when Trey approached him and handed him a handful of tablets. Trey said, "here, take these." Without a second thought, Hippie grabbed them and downed them. "What were they?" he asked. "X", Trey said. The look on Hippie's face was priceless...he had a combination of "are you freakin' kidding me" and "this is going to be interesting"!! It was awesome!!! (by the way - they were salt tablets to prevent cramping).

About two loads later he had a malfunction and borrowed my canopy...which he never let me forget for packing him line twists!!

I have many Hippie stories of similar humerous & fond memories...he will be missed. I haven't seen him in over a year, but it was so good to see him, and he was always so genuine. The smile you see in all his photos is implanted in my mind when I think of him. My heart goes out to Lisa, and all that she will have to endure in this wake.

BSBD Hippie...

Kahurangi e Mahearangi,
Kiwi, RB #926, AFF-I, FAA Snr. Rigger, RN/BSN/Paramedic

[lirpa 0]

Here's a message from Hippie's mother.

Friends of John/Hippie...this is his mother typing, so pay attention! In accordance with John's wishes, we are going to schedule an ash dive for March-April so everyone can be there, from far and wide. I've spoken to Hans at STF, where it will be...details to follow. AGCO is organizing a memorial ceremony for him Monday about 1-2 and wants to extend an invitation to his friends in the area who are able to attend. Will post the exact time soon, or Matt Rushing will. The family is having a private viewing, probably Monday. Hippie wouldn't want his adoring public to see him with his hair mussed - or mishandled by a mortician - so we've decided that this is what he'd want. I love all of you and encourage you to "friend" me (Barbara A Saunders-Jones) if you want to be friends with an old fart who raised the Hippie. He has left a very large hole in my heart; perhaps I can fill it a little with others who loved him. Signed: Hippie's Mummy

-April aka Hottielicious aka Red Hot

[douwanto 22]

BSBD.......

Uncle/GrandPapa Whit
Unico Rodriguez # 245
Muff Brother # 2421

[kelel01 1]

Fly free, Hippie. The fun times to come will never be the same without you. You were such a good friend to all of us and always so fun to be around (and a little bit mischievous!). We'll see you on the flip side.

[CSpenceFLY 1]

I had ridden with him a couple times in the last month and was impressed with how well he was handling the bike. He took his time getting use to it when he got it and was especially careful when Lisa was with him.

Take the time over the next month to teach yourself to look for motorcycles while you are driving and maybe Johns death can at least save other. Oh yeah, put down the damn phones,stop texting,putting on makeup,eating, picking your nose and anything else that takes your attention off of your driving.

Ride free my friend, I am saddened by the rides we will not get to do.

[FlyingJ 0]

I only had the opportunity to hang with hippie on a couple occasions but he definitely came off as good people. It sucks to see someone with so much life to live have theirs cut short. I'm sure shrek was waiting with an open Newcastle for him.

Killing threads since 2004.

[aprilcat 0]

Fly free, Yardhippie...
Hope you smiled on your way.~~April

Camelot II, the Electric Boogaloo!

[livendive 8]

Quote

When I think of Hippie I think of a smooth fun cool party guy and a badass flier.

Embarrassing Hippie story:

We're all down at Skydive Atlanta for one of their legendary Halloween Boogies: Walking trees, smurfs, carnival rides, ya name it. We're getting ready to do some sort of big formation or hybrid and we're dirt diving in the front of the hanger. We come off the "plane" and Hippie is backing up to his spot and gets his foot caught in the track of the hangar door and falls. He gets up immediately and is wincing in pain. He looks at us and says, "I'm scratching." and starts slowly limping away.

None of us can believe this. Mr Smooth just got hurt... on a dirt dive?!?!?! So bad now he can't jump?

He did go to the hospital and get it checked out (can't remember the injury) but came back full of painkillers and ready to party.

Blue Skies forever John whether you're in the sky or looking up at it from your bike.

That weekend was a blast, and Hippie made it better. Like J said, if there's a party in the sky, it's just been kicked up a notch. Later Hippie, thanks for the laughs, catch ya on the flip side.

Blues,
Dave

"I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!"
(drink Mountain Dew)

[kenz 0]

i know it's been forever since i've been here, but this one super sucked - bsbd - many thoughts and prayers ..

"life does throw curveballs sometimes but it doesn't mean we shouldn't still swing for the homerun" ~ me

[SuFantasma 0]

Blue Skies, will miss you bro!

Y yo, pa' vivir con miedo, prefiero morir sonriendo, con el recuerdo vivo".
- Ruben Blades, "Adan Garcia"

[skymama 35]

That second photo is cool.

She is Da Man, and you better not mess with Da Man,
because she will lay some keepdown on you faster than, well, really fast. ~Billvon

[airathanas 0]

I didn't know Hippie that well but from the few times I hung out with him he was a great guy. Fly free Hippie- we miss you!!

http://3ringnecklace.com/

[NWFlyer 2]

Hippie was one of the many folks who made my six month work assignment in Atlanta in 2006 much more fun. As cranky and tired as I often was from constant cross-country travel and a project from hell, Hippie would always be there offering to pick me up from my hotel to go out to trivia or Neighbors or some other fun activity. Heck, my very first week in town on the project he even invited me along to a Braves game in his company's corporate seats. Hippie traveled a lot for work, too, so I think he got that sometimes the best thing when you're on the road is to be surrounded by friends and fun so you can get out of the drudgery of hotel rooms and work stress. That meant a lot to me.

"There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

[DShiznit 0]

I haven't been on here or "in the scene" for several years, but it really saddens me to have come across this. John was truly a kickass guy to hang with and showed me (a newbie) quite a bit in the short time I got to know him when he hung around Dallas...

He was a great guy and after all this time it still pains me to hear of a senseless tragedy. Blues..

[iluvtofly 0]

For anyone interested who might be able to make it, Hippie's ash dive will be at Skydive The Farm on June 23rd.

BSBD

[skydivememorial 0]

a very sad day indeed, glad you all have great memories to carry with you! john 'yardhippie' rogers had been added to
the skydive memorial facebook page

http://www.facebook.com/skydivememorial

[micduran 0]

It has been a sad, yet healing, few days collecting photos for the ash dive.



I miss you, John!

Be patient with the faults of others; they have to be patient with yours.

[lauraliscious 0]

I have not logged on here in forever, but have been thinking a lot about the good times I had with Hippie. Most of my good Hippie memories were away from the DZ believe it or not. Life in the ATL was never boring when you were friends with Yardhippie! I am proud to have call you my friend, even though we lost touch these past few years. you will always hold a special place in my heart. <3

Enemiga Rodriguez, PMS #369, OrFun #25, Team Dirty Sanchez #116, Pelt Head #29, Muff #4091

[chaoskitty 0]

I haven't logged on here in a long time either, but I was just thinking about him and wanted to see what others were thinking too. The ash dive was really nice. Hippie would have been proud of the turn out.

Our birthdays just came and went, and this was the first in 7 years that I got older without him. Our lives were kind of running parallel in the past few years, as we were pursuing a lot of the same goals and life changes. I looked to him for inspiration because he had more fire in his belly than I did, and he kept me motivated.
One of the last times we talked, he told me that he was happier than he had ever been, and that as much as the sacrifices hurt, he wouldn't change anything. He didn't care what anyone else thought, he knew he was making the right choices, and he still had big plans. But, the plan changed for him and my only consolation is that my friend was happy and content with his life when it ended.
I'll look to him for inspiration for the rest of my life, and I'll see him again someday.

Attached, a pic from a really fun day after a demo at Steeplechase. He'd look at this photo and say, "It's good to be the Hippie."

[Bolas 5]

Another Hippie story. I was not there when it happened but was later that weekend so hope I get it right.

Hippie and a bunch of other Georgia people were at Skydive Greene County for a Labor Day Boogie.

The story I heard was he walked up to the manifest girl to get on a load and when she asked him his name, he imitated Dave Chappelle and said, "I'm Rick James, bitch!!!"

Apparently she hadn't seen the show and slapped him!!!

For a while after that, his sig line here was "I'm Rick James bitch, just not in Ohio."

[airtwardo 7]

Two years gone but not forgotten.

~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~

[dzdiva 7]

Definitely not forgotten. Was cleaning out my PM's the other day and found quite a few from Hippie as well as others who are no longer with us. Reading them made me smile.
Eternal blue ones!

"It's not just a daydream if you choose to make it your life..."