Thanksgiving is all about getting people together.
The uplifting story of a grandma messaging a teenage lad by accident, bringing the two strangers together for the food-filled holiday, has been told for the seventh year.
On Tuesday, Nov. 22, Jamal Hinton uploaded a selfie of himself standing next to Wanda Dench outside The Cheesecake Factory, confirming that the two are continuing their viral ritual.
“To answer all your questions, yes Thanksgiving year 7 is planned out! See you guys Thursday! He captioned the picture with the emojis turkey and black heart.
One user called the reunion ”the Thanksgiving tradition I never realized I needed” in the comments section.
Several people stated they look forward to an update on the reassuring narrative every year, while another proposed that Hallmark make a movie inspired by Hinton and Dench.
Dench unintentionally texted Hinton, informing her that Thanksgiving dinner was at her house on Nov. 24 at 3 p.m. Dench answered, “Your granny,” with an elderly woman emoji, when the boy inquired who gave him the message.
Hinton responded by requesting a picture to show that the number belonged to his grandma. He responds with a snapshot of his face and a text indicating she’s not his grandmother when she sends a photograph of herself at work.
However, can he still receive a plate? Hinton inquired.
He certainly can. That’s what grandmothers do: feed all, she responded with an emoji of a slice of cake.
Even in the midst of the epidemic in 2020, the two devised a scaled-down method of gathering. But, that year was unusual since Dench’s spouse, Lonnie, died earlier that spring as a result of COVID-19 difficulties.
Dench and her husband were both diagnosed with COVID-19 about the same time, but the virus caused Lonnie to get pneumonia. Hinton turned to Twitter soon after hearing the news to raise awareness and support. Hinton updated his followers after Lonnie’s death. Hinton’s social media post about the meeting went viral, and tens of thousands of individuals have followed the pair’s tale since their first Thanksgiving lunch together in Mesa, Arizona six years ago.
A week later, Hinton tweeted a video of himself eating lunch with the couple, writing that they miss Lonnie.
We miss you Lonnie💔 pic.twitter.com/t9lXt31FLw
— Jamal Hinton (@Jamalhinton12) April 9, 2020
Dench has stated that she believes “fate intervened” when she sent the unintentional SMS message years ago.
Jamal showed her that age made no difference. She likes all of her grandchildren and children, but they are all from different generations, and they all remember different things, she explained. But when Jamal came along, her husband and she, as well as him and his girlfriend, would go out to eat regularly throughout the year and they’d simply lose track of time.
That’s when she realized there doesn’t have to be a generation difference in order to establish buddies. So now she sees a lot of young people differently than she used to, and she makes it a point to talk to them and get to understand them, she went on.
She believes he’s made a significant difference in her life.
