After accidental SMS
Grandmother was celebrating Thanksgiving with a stranger for the sixth year in a row
The text message was sent to a stranger: The result was a wonderful friendship
© Twitter / Wanda D
The Thanksgiving invitation was meant for her grandson, but the text message was sent to a stranger. He came to the festival anyway – for the sixth time.
What could have been embarrassing ended in a wonderful friendship: six years ago, Wanda Dench sent a text message to her grandson because she wanted to invite him to Thanksgiving dinner. Only the news went to a complete stranger, the then 17-year-old Jamal Hinton. He told the 59-year-old grandmother that there must be a mix-up – but Dench invited him anyway.
The beginning of an unequal friendship
And although the two might not have become friends because of the age difference, a tradition developed from it. Since then, Hinton has come to the Dench’s Thanksgiving every year to celebrate North American Thanksgiving with the whole family. After Dench shared the story on Twitter, it went viral and the world has been touched by this unequal friendship ever since. Jamal Hinton has now become part of the family.
“If I hadn’t written back, I would have missed a wonderful relationship,” Dench told Mashable. “I have completely changed my view of the younger generation, and when I look back on all these years, it was not I who changed their lives, they changed mine,” said the now 65-year-old. The two now even give interviews on national TV to tell their unusual story.
The second year in mourning
And even if a nice friendship has developed over the years, the family constellation has also changed. In 2020, Wanda Dench lost her beloved husband Lonnie to the consequences of his Covid 19 disease – but Hinton is now bringing his girlfriend with him.
“I get so many condolences and they are so sincere and encouraging,” Dench said. In the interview, she also describes how social media helped her get over her loss.
Sources: “Mashable“, Twitter 1, Twitter 2