laughed a lot, and we sang songs, and as the night wore on it became
apparent that we were going to have to sleep there because Yael had
gotten drunk and wouldn’t let anyone else drive the van who wasn’t
insured.
It became very late, and we all spread out on the beach, on the
grass or in the van. Yippee was complaining that everyone was
boring, and should stay up all night with him. But nobody could keep
up with him, and he snorted, “Zombies! I’m going swimming then.
Farewell beautiful friends!” and he took off his clothes again and
plunged into the ocean. I began to pass out.
The last thing we heard from our beloved Yippee was the sound
of distant splashing and an acapella version of “My Bonny Lies Over
the Ocean” sung in a hoarse, heavily slurred Australian accent.
When we awoke, Yippee was gone. His clothes remained as he had
left them, in a crumpled heap on the beach, but he was nowhere to be
seen. Some of the girls began to panic, but Manu suggested that it
was just another one of his jokes. We searched the beach and
surrounding area, but he was nowhere to be found. I started to get a
heavy feeling in the pit of my stomach. The only explanation any of
us could think of was that he drowned at sea. It was a reasonable
assumption, after all. He drank more than any of us, and was the
most fearless. He probably just swam out too far, passed out and
sank to the bottom of the ocean. We didn’t know what to do. Two of
the girls were freaking out, and Lenny was punching a tree in
frustration. We just didn’t know what to do, other than go back to the
kibbutz and make a report. They knew where the police station was
and how to get in touch with Yippee’s family if necessary. I just felt
numb and violated. In the short time that Yippee and I had become
close friends, I had grown to think of him as somehow larger than
life.
They never found Yippee’s body. For the four days after the
disappearance, all anyone could talk about was him. Everyone spoke
of Yippee fondly, but with a tone you would expect when talking
about a retarded younger brother. No one seemed to realize that
Yippee was a genius except me, and maybe Lenny, Manu and Greta.
Everyone else just thought he had pretty much lost his mind, which
was reasonable, but what a mind it was to lose! I found Yippee’s
insanity a thousand times more interesting than anyone else’s sanity.
And this was merely for the fact that his function on earth was to
BIG AMERICAN BREAKFAST
52
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