The more, the merrier! A grandmother from Mesa, Arizona, accidentally texted the wrong phone number and invited a stranger to Thanksgiving dinner. The text message exchange that ensued went viral on social media, leading the grandma to keep her promise and host the teen at her home on Thursday, November 24.
It all started weeks before Thanksgiving, when Wanda Dench sent an erroneous invite to Jamal Hinton that was originally intended for her 21-year-old grandson. Hinton, a 17-year-old from Phoenix, replied, “You not my grandma. Can I still get a plate tho?”
“Of course you can,” Dench told the teen, who was sitting in class when he received the message. “That’s what grandmas do … feed every one.”
The text messages, which Hinton shared on Twitter, instantly went viral, causing social media users to wonder if the strangers would actually spend the holiday together.
“Well, it’s happening,” Dench told The Arizona Republic on Thanksgiving. “He’s showing up today with a pumpkin pie. … The sad part is, I don’t even cook. I’m sure he’ll wonder what he’s gotten himself into by accepting my invitation.”
Dench’s grandson Randall Burgoyne told the local news outlet that her invitation should send a message of kindness following a difficult election season. “I hope this shows people we don’t need to care about the color of someone’s skin, or even if we know each other, to know that we can all get along,” he explained.
The Desert Vista High School student, who forgot the pumpkin pie back at his own home, arrived at Dench’s house just in time to sit down for an outdoor dinner with his new pal’s family.
So this just happened pic.twitter.com/zqElkMd6zM
— Certo Nego (@RonaldDoee) November 25, 2016
“So this just happened,” he captioned a selfie with Dench on Twitter in a post that has since gathered more than 160,000 likes.
Dench later told NBC News that she plans to stay in touch with Hinton, saying, “I just clicked when I met him and first talked to him. Oh my gosh, I want to get to know this guy.”
