In the Internet age, the fate of people and people has come so wonderfully,
A wrong email, a wrong name, can make two completely unrelated people know.
That's true for Jamal Hinton,
Because of a wrong text message, he had an extra "grandmother" and became a small Internet celebrity.
In 2016, Jamal, a 17-year-old high school student living in Phoenix, received a text message from an unknown number.
Jamal's first reaction was: It was definitely not his grandmother, because his grandmother couldn't type, let alone text.
He asked the other party to send a photo to see, and the photo sent was a look, and sure enough, it wasn't, even the race was different.
Jamal sent his own pictures as proof, but thanksgiving dinner, hey, it feels like... I still want to eat...
The old lady readily agreed to his request, much to his surprise.
How to say that it is also a stranger, to attend the Thanksgiving dinner, is it really no problem?
"No problem!" The old man told him, "My dad was a sea soldier, and I grew up in the army and moved a lot, so it's my habit to open my doors to strange guests." ”
(Wanda and her husband Lonnie)
The old man said her name was Wanda Dench, she lived in Mesa, Arizona, and she was 60 years old.
At home, she lives with her wife and three dogs, and although it is usually quite lively, it still feels a little deserted during the festival.
The text message was originally sent to her 24-year-old grandson, Brandon Burgoyne, but the grandson had recently changed his phone number, so he sent it wrong.
I'm not sure if my grandson can come, but if Jamal can come, it's nice to have multiple people!
Wanda's hospitality touched Jamal, who sent screenshots of the two's text messages to Twitter, which caught fire at once, retweeting more than 40,000.
A few days later, an agitated Jamal went to meet Wanda in Mesa, where he thought it would be awkward, but not at all.
(Jamal standing in front of Wanda's house)
Wanda's husband, Lonnie Dench, met him at the door and embraced him warmly, calling him "Little Brother."
Wanda also enjoyed chatting, and she and Jamal chatted for 4 or 5 hours at the beginning, without any coldness.
"It's like we've known each other before." Jamal said, "There is no generation gap between us, there will always be a topic of conversation. ”
(First meeting between Wanda and Jamal)
"She was a very lovely lady, without any meanness or indifference. It felt like she already knew my whole life story, and she was willing to listen and share her own. What a nice guy. ”
Wanda also had a good impression of Jamal: "He was an interesting kid, and the first time I saw him I thought, 'Ah, I want to know this guy.' ’ ”
The meeting between the two is very popular with netizens, and people lament that there are still well-meaning people in the world.
That year's Thanksgiving, the Wanda family invited Jamal to participate as promised, and everyone ate happily.
Like most online events, even the hottest thing will slowly cool down.
But Jamal and Wanda are not putting on a show, and after the Internet forgot about it, they still agreed to have a dinner together every Year on Thanksgiving.
"Family is not just someone who is related by blood, but anyone you want to be with." Wanda said, "For me, Jamal is a new family member. ”
The 43-year-old couple became friends, and every two or three months after that, Jamal would take his girlfriend to visit the Wandas.
(Jamal and his girlfriend Mikara)
He sees Wanda and Lonnie as his "other grandparents," giving them gifts and eating at home with them, sometimes at restaurants.
A picture of Jamal and his girlfriend, as well as a group photo of the four of them, was also placed on the cabinet by the Wanda couple, telling everyone that there were still two members of their family.
On Thanksgiving Day in 2017, Jamal visited Wanda's house again and took a photo of last year's group photo.
Thanksgiving in 2018, another group photo, Wanda is getting older and Jamal is becoming more mature.
People who follow Jamal joke that they do look like a family.
"After spending a lot of time with her, you both start to look like each other."
Another netizen replied: "This is understandable, she is really his grandmother now." ”
More people were touched by this friendship:
"In an age when time is rarely left for older people, Jamal's presence gives me hope."
"This story is really heartwarming."
"I'm so jealous. My grandparents died when I was one year old, and my mom and dad died 10 years ago. I haven't had a real family dinner in more than a decade. I love this story and I'm glad it lasted so many years. ”
In 2019, Jamal and his girlfriend still visit the Wanda couple every few months, and they eat Thanksgiving dinner together and go to the pumpkin field together.
That year, the four of them had a particularly happy time, jamal and his girlfriend had just moved out to plan a future Thanksgiving event that could be held in their new home.
But who knows, that's the last full Thanksgiving for the four of us.
In April 2020, Jamal's "grandfather" Lonnie died of illness.
Since March, Wanda and Lonnie have been coughing non-stop, and Wanda is gradually getting better, but Lonnie is getting worse and worse, and finally they have to go to the hospital.
Doctors soon diagnosed him with COVID-19, the old man was hospitalized, and Jamal and Wanda corresponded with him regularly to eliminate loneliness.
Wanda had expected her husband to be back soon, but one day in April, she suddenly received a call from Lonnie, "Honey, hurry up and come to the hospital..."
She rushed over and found her husband in critical condition, and she watched him breathe hard, and after five minutes, his husband was gone.
They have been married for 43 years, and the cheerful and talkative Lonnie has always been wanda's spiritual pillar.
"Even if he was in the hospital, I thought he would get better and come back to me." Wanda told the media, "He's my soul mate and my eternal cheerleader." ”
Wanda was depressed for a long time, and Jamal felt sorry for the two old men.
On social networking sites, he appealed to all who had seen their news to take a video of Wanda, comforting her and also mourning her husband.
Soon, videos of strangers poured in, and people thought of Wanda as their grandmother, saying their hearts were with her.
These videos were made into a collection by Jamal and sent to Wanda, and the name "Lonnie" was also on the American hot search after the old man's death.
"It's all really, unimaginable." Wanda said with tears in her eyes, "If he knew that so many people in the country cared about him and cared about us, he would be very happy." ”
On Thanksgiving Day 2020, Jamal and his girlfriend, as well as Wanda's daughter and grandson, rushed to the old man's house.
Lonnie's picture was on the table, and at first the atmosphere was heavy, and after a while they began to reminisce about the story about Lonnie, and laughter reappeared.
"In previous years, Lonnie was a major member of the Thanksgiving storytelling session, but now it's us." Wanda said, "Everyone is frustrated, but we also have to try to get back to normal." Be hopeful and always care about others. ”
As is customary, everyone took a group photo at the end of Thanksgiving, and Lonnie in the photo was smiling like everyone else.
Thanksgiving is just around the corner this year, and Jamal and Wanda have agreed to be a guest at Wanda's house.
Wanda says she can't wait, Jamal, why aren't they?
Because of a wrong text message, I gained a friendship of up to 6 years, which felt really wonderful.
No matter what age, what race, what profession, there are countless possibilities for friendship between people,
Because most people are lonely and warm...