turkey day in my little corner of the world -

[KG]

A job, a full plate, a good day
Ferg's Sports Bar & Grill's owner gives a hand and a hot meal to those in need Thanksgiving day.
By JAMIE THOMPSON
Published November 26, 2004

ST. PETERSBURG - All he wanted for Thanksgiving was a bottle of Coke, a half pint of rum and a quiet place to spend the sunny afternoon.

But when Glenn Kennedy woke on his cardboard pallet Thursday morning, he had no Coke, no rum and no money.

So the 60-year-old walked from his sleeping spot on Central Avenue to nearby Ferg's Sports Bar & Grill, already filled with the smell of fried turkey, corn bread dressing and pumpkin pie.

The staff was preparing a Thanksgiving dinner for about 20 children from a local shelter. Kennedy had shown up to help. He's gotten to know the bar owner since living on a nearby bench for three weeks and does odd jobs to earn cash.

Kennedy walked along the sidewalk, picking up trash. And by 11 a.m., the tables were set, the turkey carved, the staff waiting in navy blue aprons for their guests.

"This is a business. Most of the time we're worried about making money," said Rich Ninis, a part-time bartender and the assistant principal at Perkins Elementary School. "Today, we're here to give back."

But in the end, the children never showed.

So the bar staff and their families waved homeless people off the streets and spread the word at a nearby housing complex. They passed out heaping plates of ham, mashed potatoes and green beans to about a dozen guests - an unemployed hairdresser, a construction worker, a disabled senior between government checks.

MORE>>> http://www.stpetersburgtimes.com/2004/11/26/Southpinellas/A_job__a_full_plate__.shtml