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A mistaken text connected them. Now they’ve become one of America’s favorite Thanksgiving traditions
Wanda Dench and Jamal Hinton met at the intersection of a wrong number and a bold invitation. A decade later, theyâre still celebrating Thanksgiving together and their unlikely friendship continues to inspire.
It started with a text Dench meant to send to one of her six grandchildren, inviting them to Thanksgiving dinner in 2016.
Then a 17-year-old high school senior, Hinton opened the text, skeptical it could have come from his own grandmother, who was not all that technologically savvy. He asked for a photo, and when Dench sent him a selfie â clearly not of his grandma â he replied with a selfie of his own and a cheeky question.
A grandma invited a stranger to Thanksgiving. A decade later, we still eat the story up.
“Thanksgiving dinner is at my house on Nov. 24 at 3:00pm. Let me know if you’re coming,” wrote the sender to her grandson – or so she thought.
“You not my grandma. Can I still get a plate tho?” replied the 17-year-old stranger on the receiving end, alongside a photo of himself.
“Of course you can. That’s what grandma’s do…feed every one (sic),” said the grandma, who didn’t know her grandson’s phone number had recently changed.
Wanda Dench and Jamal Hinton didn’t know it then, but that fateful exchange in November 2016 would lead to a decade of holidays together, a lasting friendship and a story of compassion that would continue to grip the internet years later.
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Viral grandma and stranger she mistakenly texted to celebrate 10th Thanksgiving together
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Wanda Dench and Jamal Hinton prepare for their 10th Thanksgiving celebration together, both telling Fox News Digital how one mistaken text can change lives.
Sometimes the best connections happen by chance — and for one Arizona pair, that bit of luck has turned into yet another Thanksgiving that they're spending together. This year, it will be their 10th.
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