The text mix-up which became a holiday tradition
After a text message to the wrong number invited a stranger to Thanksgiving last year, dinner with the new friend has become an annual tradition with the guest welcomed back this year.
Jamal Hinton, from Phoenix, in the US state of Arizona last year received a text message from a woman who believed she had texted her grandson to invite him to a celebration of the American holiday.
The confused teenager asked the sender for a photo and found that it was definitely not his grandmother, but a woman named Wanda Dench.
After replying with a photo of himself and letting the grandmother know she had messaged the wrong person, Jamal asked if he could join the family anyway.
“Can I still get a plate tho?” he asked.
“Of course you can. That’s what grandmothers do… Feed everyone," Ms Dench wrote.
It seems the chance meeting started a tradition, and Jamal, now 18, was invited back for Thanksgiving dinner this year. This time he brought his girlfriend Mikaela Grubbs along to join the Dench's, who of course was welcomed with open arms.
Jamal said the Dench family has extended an open invitation to join them every year.
“Just being friendly, I gained a new friend. A new tradition on Thanksgiving and I love it,” he told NBC4.
Ms Dench told The Arizona Republic having Jamal and Mikaela join the family this year was a blessing.
"It was really nice having everybody here. We got to laugh about last year and reminisce about how it all blew up on our phone and how I had to change my number.
"We had a laugh and a good time," she said.
The pair remained in contact since last year’s dinner, and Jamal said he now thought of Ms Dench as an adopted grandmother.
"The world is becoming a better place than it used to be," Jamal said. "I'm loving it. I love that you don't have to know someone or know their background to be nice to them."
