For the sixth year in a row a family will share Thanksgiving with a person they met due to an accidental text message.
In 2016, Wanda Dench in Mesa, Arizona, sent a text message to her grandson telling him what time Thanksgiving dinner would be at her house, but she accidentally sent it to the wrong number.
Jamal Hinton, who was 17 at the time was in Desert Vista High School when he received the message. After realizing it was a mistake during the course of the texting exchange, Hinton jokingly asked if he could still come for dinner.
Dench replied, "Of course you can. That's what grandmas do ... feed everyone!"
Hinton showed up with his girlfriend and posted screenshots of the exchange to social media and the story quickly went viral. According to CNN, the screenshots accidentally included Dench’s number and she received hundreds of messages of people inviting themselves over.
The Dench's have invited Hinton to Thanksgiving every year since. Hinton told the New York Post that he regularly texts Dench to stay in touch and that they have even gone on outings together including a pumpkin patch.
Last year during the pandemic, Wanda and Lonnie still continued the tradition during a socially-distanced gathering outside Dench's home. It was the first year that the meal was missing Dench’s husband Lonnie who passed away in April 2020.
As some of you may have already found out tonight Lonnie did not make it... he passed away Sunday morning? but Wanda told me all the love and support he was receiving put a huge smile on his face so I thank every single one of you guys for that!???? https://t.co/tNvals0FMh
— Jamal Hinton (@Jamalhinton12) April 9, 2020
Dench told CNN at the time "I can't even explain how much joy I had, having good food with my favorite company. We laughed, we had a great time, we reminisced about the past. It was so good for all of us."
We are all set for year 6! ? pic.twitter.com/wEQioizWGd
— Jamal Hinton (@Jamalhinton12) November 14, 2021
On Sunday, Hinton tweeted that the tradition would continue for the sixth year this Thanksgiving.
Join and support independent free thinkers!
We’re independent and can’t be cancelled. The establishment media is increasingly dedicated to divisive cancel culture, corporate wokeism, and political correctness, all while covering up corruption from the corridors of power. The need for fact-based journalism and thoughtful analysis has never been greater. When you support The Post Millennial, you support freedom of the press at a time when it's under direct attack. Join the ranks of independent, free thinkers by supporting us today for as little as $1.
Remind me next month
To find out what personal data we collect and how we use it, please visit our Privacy Policy
