Thanksgiving is a time to celebrate with one's own clan, but shouldn't the festive spirit of the holiday extend to complete strangers? Especially during a time of such divide in these United States. Leave it up to a not-so-tech savvy grandmother to embody the true reason for the season. A grandma in Phoenix, AZ attempted to send a text message to her grandson and invite him to Thanksgiving dinner, but the number she reached actually belonged to a 17-year-old named Jamal Hinton.
Jamal assumed that his own grandmother had gotten a new phone number, but to be safe, he asked the sender to share a selfie with him. The image he then received was not of an African American woman like his own grandmother but, instead, another elderly women with blonde hair and glasses. "[You're] not my grandma," Jamal replied, including a laughing emoji with his text. Jamal then sent back a selfie of his own, confirming to the white grandma that she had not gotten through to her own grandson.
As the two of them had already exchanged photos, Jamal thought to himself, "Hey, why not ask for a plate since the offer was still there." So he asked, and to his surprise, the woman warmly maintained the invitation.
"Of course you can," wrote the grandma in response to Jamal's inquiry about whether he could still attend the dinner. "That's what grandma's do... Feed everyone." And by everyone, she meant all of the Hintons. Jamal has confirmed to ABC News that he is "very excited" for him and his family to celebrate Thanksgiving at the home of a woman with whom he came into contact due to an errant text message.
Jamal posted about the encounter on Twitter, and it has received a great deal of positive attention, apparently inspiring others to convene with strangers for their Thanksgiving dinners.