"Food for the stomach and the soul"

HOLLYWOOD, CA (FOX 11) - Paul Rodriguez tells jokes from the stage of the Laugh Factory about the comedy club's owner Jamie Masada. Says Paul over the mic, "He came here from Iran with just 7-million dollars!" There's uproarious laughter in the club.

It's an awesome moment for people who often have little to laugh about. People who are homeless or in transitional housing. People who wouldn't have a Thanksgiving to enjoy if it wasn't for Masada.

For 38 years this man has joined with other comedians and friends to host a holiday for the homeless. He's done it everything Thanksgiving and Christmas. He calls it "food for the stomach and the soul!"

For this reporter, I can't tell you how many people came up to me to thank me for the meal not realizing it wasn't me (the guy all dressed up in a coat and tie) who was their host, but Jamie. When Paul Rodriguez needed a helping hand to be pulled out of homelessness it was Jamie who was there for him. So, no surprise that each year he's there for Jamie.

About having "good fortune" Rodriguez says, "if you ever find a bottle at the beach, rubbed it, a genie came out and offered you great talent or good luck... take the luck!" Why?

Because homelessness really is a case of all of us being one paycheck away from disaster. Both Jamie and Paul agree its one of those things that we talk about when we say "There for the grace of God go I."

This Thanksgiving Jamie probably fed around 2000 people at the Laugh Factory in four sittings of turkey, sweet potatoes, pumpkin pie and a good laugh!!!