No Place Like...

There is no place like SOMEONE'S home for the holidays, and this year once again, there was a happy holiday for Jamal Hinton and Wanda Dench, who spent their eighth year celebrating Thanksgiving together.

You might recall, it was a misdirected text back in 2016 that erroneously invited Hinton to Dench's table for Gobble Day. This year, because this is America, there was a commercial angle to it.

Airbnb got involved, sponsoring the dinner, and adding more guests.

Their listing on the Airbnb site said, "Some may recognize us from our viral text mishap that led to our first Thanksgiving together back in 2016. And eight years later, we’re practically family."

"To commemorate our lasting friendship, we’re excited to become Airbnb hosts and welcome new guests into our holiday tradition, creating meaningful connections in the process," the offer continued.

In fondly-recalled pre-pandemic 2016, Ms Dench sent a text invitation message for T-Day dinner, intended for her grandson, to Hinton, who was a high school senior at the time.

Not recognizing the sender, Hinton asked for a picture, and, upon receiving a photo of Ms Dench. replied, "You not my grandma" and "Can I still get a plate tho?"

Ms Dench said, "Come on over and get yourself a nice supper," and a tradition was born which now spans eight years. Ms Dench lost her husband, Lonnie, to the coronavirus in 2020, but the annual meetings go on, and soon, Netflix subscribers will see a movie about their lucky incidental friendship, to be entitled "The Thanksgiving Text."

I'm for Meryl Streep playing that nice lady and hiring DJ Jazzy Jeff to play Mr Hinton.