Five years ago, a text exchange sparked a tradition of two people celebrating Thanksgiving together.
Dench accidentally sent a text message to Hinton inviting him to Thanksgiving dinner, which started the tradition of enjoying the holiday together. The message was meant for Dench's grandson, but she accidentally sent it to another person. The then 59-year-old grandmother didn't seem to care about the mixup at all. Dench invited them to join him anyway, after he responded to a joke from 17-year-old Hinton.
The text exchange went online after it was posted. The story got even better when Dench was taken up on her offer.
It's possible that Tweet has been deleted.
It's possible that Tweet has been deleted.
Meeting up with a random stranger is not a good idea if you only exchanged a few texts. The exception to the rule was Hinton and Dench, who met up for Thanksgiving and established a new holiday tradition.
The unexpected friendship between Hinton and Dench has flourished over the years, with the sixth Thanksgiving they have spent together in 2021. The dinner table has become a little quieter since they began, but it is still welcoming. Dench's beloved husband, Lonnie, passed away early last year, making this the second Thanksgiving Hinton and Dench have celebrated without him.
Dench told Arizona's Family reporter Briana Whitney how social media helped her through her loss, and how many people give her genuine and uplifting condolences.
Dench said that he would have missed out on a wonderful relationship if he hadn'ttexted him back. I changed my view completely of the younger generation, and they changed mine, because I didn't change their life.
