When the best laid plans go astray, accidents can take their place and the outcome can be just as good – if not better. Just ask Jamal Hinton and Wanda Dench, total strangers who met seven years ago after a text message seeking Thanksgiving plans went wrong.
On Tuesday, Nov. 22, Hinton shared a photo standing beside Dench outside a Cheesecake Factory restaurant, revealing the two accidental friends are carrying on their viral tradition that began totally by chance.
“To answer all your questions, yes Thanksgiving year 7 is planned out! See you guys Thursday!” Hinton captioned the photo with turkey and black heart emojis.
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It all started like this.
In 2016, Dench, from Mesa, Az., accidentally sent a text to Hinton, telling the then 17-year-old that Thanksgiving dinner was at her house on Nov. 24 at 3 p.m.
It was meant for her grandson, who had changed his phone number. Instead, Hinton got the message while sitting in class at Desert Vista High School.
When the teen asked who sent it, Dench replied, “Your grandma,” with an elderly woman emoji.
Hinton wrote back, asking for a photo to prove the number really belonged to his grandmother.
After she sends a selfie image of herself at work, he replies with a photo of his face and a text saying she’s not his grandma.
“Can I still get a plate tho?” Hinton gently suggested.
“Of course you can. That’s what grandma’s do…feed everyone,” she replied with a piece of cake emoji, and so the pair have continued to this day.
Hinton had told his social media followers last week the two would be celebrating the day together again.
In an interview earlier this week with azfamily.com, Dench and Hinton reflected on the life changing benefits of giving in friendship while asking nothing in return.
“I would have missed out on a wonderful relationship,” Dench said, when asked what would have happened if she hadn’t invited Hinton over years ago. “I’ve changed my view so much on the younger generation, and now that I’ve reflected back on all these years, I didn’t change their life; they changed mine.”
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