It was a cool August afternoon in 1988 when Steve Chesney, Leon Chase, Jeff Dunlap, Andy Feudner & I went over to Beat Box for a photo shoot.

Perhaps I should back up a bit and explain exactly what Beat Box is and its meaning to us.

Painted on the abandoned Korvettes building by an unknown break dancer, Beat Box was perfect in its simplicity as a testament to an era long since gone; one of parachute pants and breakin' crews.

For some reason we were drawn to it. It might have been that there was a new McDonalds in the Korvettes parking lot but I prefer to think that it was a sign.

Oh, the hours we spent there, looking at the words on the wall, contemplating their origin and meaning. It wasn't like Beat Box is something that one just writes without a motive. Was it a command? Should Beat Boxing become the new mantra for our generation? Should it replace "Om" said on the intake of breath?

All I do know for sure is that it meant something.

Beat Box became a place we went to daily. Two years after its discovery someone painted the words "I Was" in front of it—a message from its creator or a prank by an unbeliever? A few months later—right around the time of graduation—it was indiscriminately painted over along with the rest of the graffiti on Korvettes.

A sad day indeed.

There was an attempt to revitalize the area but the yellow paint on the grey cover-up just didn't hold the magic.

Now there is nothing but an empty lot. Korvettes was razed to the ground by developers.

But we have our memories and we have the testimony of the pictures we took at Beat Box. From right to left:

Leon Chase: After this photo, Mr. Chase went on to study Breakin' culture. Always in search of a good piece of cardboard on which to break, his studies soon suffered until he eventually had to drop out of high school. Chase then spent several years trying to attain Electric Bugaloo but was crushed when Ice-T publicly decried him as "Wack." After successfully attaining his GED, he made his way back from Tibet to Michigan. Now he finds comfort as the creator of the comic zine, "Stewie." Chase is currently working on a novel about his experiences as a nude male model. This author was instructed not to ask Mr. Chase for any comments on Beat Box for fear that he might have a relapse.

Steve Chesney: Recently seen being thrown out of Club X, this would have been hard to imagine to those who knew Steve as a mild-mannered and quiet youth who spent little time away from the public library studying business and finance. But those days have long since passed. He is now known as "Screamin' Steve" and has his own "shock jock" program in the Motor City. Chesney has become infamous as a hard-drinker and drug abuser whose profanity-laden tirades against liberals have lost him a lot of friends but have gotten him a small but loyal following of miscreants who can be seen driving pick-up trucks sporting bumper stickers to Chesney's private bordello, Heath Beach. Mr. Chesney would not return our calls when we attempted to reach him for this story.

Andrew Feudner: No one knows what became of Mr. Feudner after graduation but it is rumored that he might be traveling under the alias of John Doe #2.

Jeff Dunlap: After a brief stint as a pool shark, he moved to Florida. Nothing was heard of him for years until there appeared an ad in "Nugget Magazine" where a scantily clad Mr. Dunlap suggested that "For a really Hot Time, call me at 1-800-SNOOKER." This number is answered by a breathy man complaining that his pants are too tight and to hear more please enter your Mastercard number now. Although this author was fairly certain that the rest of the recording does not involve reflections on Beat Box.

Mike White (behind the camera): Looking at his high school yearbook, Mr. White said that his goal was to "rock and party every day." His dream came true. After a few years as the leader of the L.A. band Steel Soldier, White traded his bass for a guitar and now plays the role of Paul Stanley in the KISS cover band Strutter.

-mb