On Skid Row, Respite and Roast Turkey for Thousands : Charity: Thanksgiving dinner is served up to the needy around town. But some wonder, what about tomorrow?

For most people, Thanksgiving is a day to relax with family and friends around a comfortable dinner table laden with holiday fixings.

For Skid Row residents of the flophouses and sidewalks surrounding the downtown Los Angeles street they call “The Bloody Fifth,” it meant a brief respite from their continuous struggle to survive another day.

Under hazy November sunshine, about 8,000 needy men and women were served home-cooked turkey dinners at the Fred Jordan Mission on picnic tables lined up on a block-long section of 5th Street festooned with flags and balloons.

Similar holiday meals were dished up throughout the city during the holiday period--from the Los Angeles Mission to the Covenant House for runaway teen-agers in Hollywood, and from the Hard Rock Cafe in the upscale Beverly Center to the Come Back Inn in Venice, where a live turkey was the guest of honor at a vegetarian dinner intended to promote a “nonviolent” diet.

Probably the largest event was at the Fred Jordan Mission, where thousands feasted on turkey, mashed potatoes, candied yams and pumpkin pie served by 1,400 volunteers. Entertainers sang religious songs that echoed down grimy alleyways strewn with broken wine bottles and rotting mattresses.

“Know what I like most about Thanksgiving?” asked Ronnie Mosley, 35, biting into a juicy turkey leg. “Nobody’s robbin’, fightin’ or bustin’ on 5th Street.”

But Clifford Scott, 28, couldn’t help wondering about the uncertainty of tomorrow.

“It’s great right now, sitting down and eating like this,” Scott said. “But I don’t know what I’ll do tomorrow. That’s why I’m eating all I can today.”

Willie Jordan, director of the 40-year-old mission, said it took four days to cook the 13,000 pounds of turkey, 500 pies and 50 cases of candied yams offered up to displaced men, women and children on Thursday.

“Isn’t it beautiful?” Jordan said as 10-year-old Leas Newman sang her own song, “Fight the Fight for Faith,” from a stage at one end of the block. “The personal satisfaction we get from this keeps us going for a year of Sundays.”

A few blocks away at the Los Angeles Mission, about 4,000 men and women were served holiday dinners on Wednesday.

“It’s better for the street people that everyone doesn’t eat on the same day,” said Mission chaplain David Holman. “This way, they get to eat holiday meals two days in a row.”

Elisa Delgado, 19, of New York City was among 200 teen-agers served a hot turkey dinner at the Covenant House. Delgado, who was physically abused as a child and has run away from home “hundreds of times” since she was 9, said it was the first happy holiday meal she has ever had.

“I hate holidays. There is always so much pain and suffering,” Delgado said, trying not to cry. “But this is very nice. The people here are friendly.”

James Frye, 19, joked about spending the last six months at “my ‘sandominium’ at Venice Beach called Lifeguard Tower No. 29.”

“I spent last Thanksgiving at Golden Gate Park high on LSD,” said Frye, who was decked out for dinner in a gray suit, striped shirt and a tie donated by the shelter. “I don’t take drugs anymore. I haven’t been high in nine months.”

Another 350 down-and-outers gathered at the Hard Rock Cafe where they enjoyed traditional holiday fare, surrounded by the sights and sounds of 20th-Century pop culture.

The dinner guests marveled at the cafe’s festive atmosphere, its walls emblazoned with rock ‘n’ roll memorabilia. Loudspeakers blared an ear-splitting assortment of contemporary sounds.

Some of them got up and danced to the music.

Most of the diners were carried by bus, free of charge, to the trendy cafe. Some crossed only a few streets to get there, while others came from as far away as South-Central.

In all, seven Hard Rock cafes across the nation served free Thanksgiving meals as part of owner Peter Morton’s effort to help the needy, said Valerie Van Galder, who coordinated the dinner at the Los Angeles location.

“I thought it was going to be on paper plates,” said Joe Jones, 38, who lives in his car. “I didn’t expect there to be silverware.”

As Jones dug into a second plate of turkey, his friend Bill eased away from the table after finishing a serving and headed for the door.

“I’ve got another dinner to go to at the shelter where I live,” said Bill, who declined to give his last name. “I just came here to see what this place is like. I’ve been eating turkey since last week.”

But Dorothy Robertson, 42, was more than grateful for the meal--a break from her daily regimen of Top Ramen, an instant noodle dish.

“All I can do is thank the Hard Rock for giving me a great dinner and thank god for getting me here,” Robertson said.