“It’s just amazing to sit back and think that one mistaken text led to so many people’s happiness and joy,” says Jamal Hinton.
You may think you heard this heartwarming Thanksgiving story of chance meetings and found family 10 years ago, but you might not know that it’s still being written.
In 2016, High school senior Jamal Hinton received a group text at his new number, sent by his grandma, inviting him for Thanksgiving. It sounds like an ordinary exchange, but Hinton was pretty sure something was amiss.
“Ninety percent of me already knew it wasn’t my grandmother,” he says, explaining that he knows she doesn’t text. He asked the sender to text a selfie to try to figure out for sure and received a photo of Wanda Dench, who is definitely not his grandmother.
Hinton describes himself as a fun-loving extrovert, so he sent a selfie back, definitely not of Dench’s grandson’s face, to let her know she had the wrong number.
But, the joke was on Hinton. Dench, whose grandson was the previous owner of Hinton’s new number, hesitated.
Speaking to TODAY.com in partnership with Green Giant, Dench says, “I was embarrassed, and I was just about to click that delete button. And then something just came over me and said, ‘No, say how you really feel.’”
“Of course,” she replied, “That’s what grandmas do. They feed everyone.”
The internet went wild over this hilarious exchange with a touching twist, and the media started calling. Dench’s grandsons screened callers and helped her navigate a meeting with Hinton at her house the day after their serendipitous text exchange went viral.
““I was 17 at the time,” recalls Hinton, “and it was scary, because it was about a 45 minute drive away from my house. I didn’t know Wanda, obviously, or her family.”
He only felt safe enough to accept the invitation because the media would be there, but actually meeting Dench cast his understandable hesitations aside.
“All doubts of her maybe being a serial killer just went away the second I saw her face,” he laughs.
And a few days later, yes, he came for Thanksgiving.
“We had more media people at my house than we had family members,” says Dench of that first year, and though it was a fun adventure, she felt she didn’t really get to know Hinton. She and her late husband Lonnie invited him and his then-girlfriend for dinner with the new year. “There wasn’t ever an awkward moment,” says Hinton, and they talked for hours, until the restaurant was closing.
“I felt like there was no generation gap at all,” Dench remembers, “like we were just like pals for forever … and that grew into family and love, and I feel so blessed.”
Nine more Thanksgivings now, through Hinton growing into an adult, through the pandemic, the loss of Lonnie and her recent treatment for breast cancer.
Hinton wonders every year whether he should keep going — not whether to have Thanksgiving with Dench, which is a given, but whether to post about it. Does anyone still care? And every year, the answer is yes. People are still interested because Hinton and Dench are still meeting, not just at the holidays, but through the year.
“Thanksgiving is the only time we don’t get to have really great conversations with each other because we’re always interviewing!” laughs Dench.
Every year, too, they decide which of them will host, but this year, it’s the Jolly Green Giant doing the cooking.
Green Giant’s company name comes from the variety of “giant” green peas they first sold in 1925. That makes this year its 100th anniversary of canning up nutritious pantry staples, and in recognition of both anniversaries, it’s providing the Hinton-Dench gathering with the whole spread, from turkey to mashed potatoes to (of course) green bean casserole.
Over the years, the friends have fielded several fun promotions, from boxed stuffing to board games, and they always talk over what they want to accept.
“It was an easy decision to partner with Green Giant because I grew up with them, and Jamal did, too, ” Dench says. “Who doesn’t have green bean casserole for Thanksgiving every year? It just felt good.”
Dench is happy to report that she is feeling good, cancer-free as of her last check-up, and she hopes everyone will take that as a reminder to schedule their own screenings.
She also hopes their abiding friendship “reminds people how awesome Thanksgiving can be,” Dench continues, “that it’s all about good food and family and loved ones and getting together with conversation.”
Hinton agrees. “Personally, I’m hoping everyone enjoys their green bean casserole,” he laughs, but he has also been gratified over the years to hear of others being inspired to share a meal when they normally wouldn’t. “We got to actually inspire people, and that’s all I want to — inspire people to do better, or to step out of your comfort zone and try something new.
“It’s just amazing to sit back and think that one mistaken text led to so many people’s happiness and joy.”