Following up more on Pat Chawki

"Do not stand at my grave and cry;
For I am not there. I did not die."

== The last two lines of a poem that appeared on a memorial to Pat Chawki for classmates to see at the 20th reunion for the Grant High School Class of 1986.

In addition to today's story (linked here) and the blog item yesterday (linked here), some more context to the story about 41-year-old Pat Chawki -- not dead, but struggling to stay alive:

== One of the things Matt Simpson loves to tell about his former Grant High teammate is how unselfish Chawki was in allowing that eventual 1986 L.A. City title team to succeed.

"One of the main reasons for our success that year was because of Pat's glove in right field," said Simpson, the team's shortstop. "But there was a point where Pat was struggling at the plate. We had another player, Danny Karpin, who was hitting well. Pat suggested to the coach (Tom Lucero) that he DH for him -- use Danny to bat for him. When coach did that, it really transformed the lineup. Pat was always going to be a great defensive player, but what he did for the team was just so much of who he is."

== Teammate Jason Peterson says he was pretty tight with pitcher Rod Beck and Don Hussey on that '86 Grant High team. Beck was drafted by the San Francisco Giants in the 13th round of the 1986 draft, had a 13-year big-league career and made three All-Star teams as a closer.

Beck attended that 20 year, Class of '86 reunion in L.A. in 2006 -- arriving late, hanging out with his friends. And taking note of the memorial set up for Chawki.

Beck was found dead a year later -- June 23, 2007 -- at his home in Phoenix.

Less than two years after Beck's death, the Grant High baseball team found out that Chawki was, in fact, still alive.

"I couldn't help Rod," said Peterson. "We all felt so helpless with the problems he had. Nobody can do anything for you if you don't want help.

"With Pat, yeah, we can help Pat. When I got the call (from friend Laurie Green) that Pat was still alive, I didn't think twice about it. I wanted to do everything I could to help.

"It's hard to put their two situations together. Rod had a problem that we didn't hear too much about until it was too late. Pat's problem, we can help."

Simpson agreed: "Yeah, it's like having a second chance. With Pat, here's an opportunity to do what we can."

Added teammate Harlan Berk: "I probably knew Rodney the longest -- we met in second grade. I didn't even know what was going on with him. When he came to play for San Diego, I thought we could go out fishing sometime. I looked forward to seeing him. Then he left the team. I didn't see him at the 20-year reunion.
"Now it's time for our team to rally behind him. It was almost a sense of guilt how everything happened (to Beck) and we couldn't do something sooner."

== An ESPN.com story on Beck for "Outside The Lines" in 2007 (linked here)

== If you're ever on the field level behind home plate at Dodger Stadium, look around for an usher named Howie Levine. He's the former Grant High basketball coach who coached baseball with Lucero, when Chawki, Beck, et. al., played there in 1986.

GoodGirlsGive.org

Pat Chawki's daughter Danielle and son Anthony prepare to throw out the first pitch at a charity softball game at Grant High field in Van Nuys last month, joined in the ceremony by Kayla and Kelsey Beck, the two daughters of the late Rod Beck, Chawki's former high school teammate. Every living starter from the 1986 Grant High baseball team (except one, Karpin) attended the fundraiser, including teammates Sean Pettway, David Waco, Dennis Doody, Alon Ben-Nun and Juan Guerrero.