Posted on 11/19/2004 5:15:32 AM PST by new cruelty
I have come like a pilgrim to this modest Fort Lauderdale neighborhood, nestled conveniently between the flight path of a major airport and an Indian gaming casino, to witness a miracle — in marketing, if nothing else.
I'm here to see the 10-year-old grilled cheese sandwich. The one with the bite taken out of it, and the toasty visage of what is purported to be the face of the mother of Jesus.
The ultimate wonder bread. Or what The New York Post has already proclaimed: The Holy Grill — and then piling on with a side of "Praise Cheese-us!"
But alas, I am turned away at the door by the son of Diana Duyser, 52, who has grown weary of explaining her miraculous Virgin Mary Grilled Cheese sandwich, which has been drawing bids in the tens of thousands of dollars on the online auction site, eBay.
"People from all over the world have been calling," Duyser's son, Robert, said. "It's been day and night."
Seller: 'I am not scamming anyone'
As of Thursday afternoon, the top bid for Duyser's partially eaten grilled cheese sandwich was $16,600, and interest in her item has attracted more than 1.2 million online visitors and fueled eBay's since-reversed decision to remove her item as a hoax.
It is on this auction site that Duyser has told the story of the sandwich she has kept in a plastic container for 10 years, calling its lack of mold a miracle in itself, and ascribing gambling winnings at the nearby casino as evidence of the sandwich's power.
"I would like all bidders to know that I do believe that this is the Virgin Mary Mother of God," her auction site says. "I am not scamming anyone."
Duyser's sacred sandwich has unleashed a cottage industry of Virgin Mary grilled cheese paraphernalia, a plethora of additional items for people who just can't come up with the kind of money it would take to own the original.
You can buy a T-shirt that says "I ate the Virgin Mary Grilled Cheese" on the front, with the words, "It was sacrilicious" on the back. Or another one that says, "If you grill it, she will come."
The image of the partially eaten grilled cheese sandwich with the alleged face on the bread's surface has, in the past few days, become a piece of Americana.
Thong among tributes to sandwich
There are Virgin Mary Grilled Cheese coffee mugs, Christmas ornaments, jewelry, trading cards and even thong underwear.
Internet entrepreneurs have snapped up domain names using the words "virgin mary grilled cheese" and are selling variations of them as web addresses.
One eBay seller in Michigan is offering a custom-made Virgin Mary Grill Cheese sandwich, offering the buyer a chance to improve on the original by picking cheddar, Swiss or American cheese, and opting for facial expressions listed as "religious, sincere, loving, cheerful, stout, portly, sullen, etc."
Copycat skilleteers abound: Bids are now being taken on grilled cheese sandwiches that bear the faces of Elvis, Joan Collins, and "the Virgin Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen."
There's even a guy who claims to have cooked up a pork chop that looked like the pope — something he's calling "the PopeChop."
Yes, miracles abound.
ROTFL !!!!!!!!!!!!
Tammy Faye looks pretty bad nowadays.
give her a chance to get some makeup on
And to what does she ascribe the losings of her fellow gamblers?
Looks more like Faye Dunaway (the toast, not the woman).
It has a taste that is holier than thou!
Wow. Imagine waking up to that everyday. AND she burns your grilled cheese?!?
Just out of curiousity, how does anyone really know what the Virgin Mary looked like? I can kinda see a human face. I'd even give feminine. But a specific individual?
That is Greta Garbo in the sandwich.
LOL! Or to sandblast off a few inches.
I'm afraid Ichneumon is right....definitely Jean Harlow, likeness is incredible.
There's a face in there hehe. My mother heard this story and she said that's why she came to this country. Only in America can you sell a grilled cheese sandwich on the internet.
Perhaps they didn’t have enough bread. It may be that they thought it would be butter if they gambled in the stock market but didn’t know the risks of margarine stocks. It could be that they were not gouda at heart. We just don’t know. As an aside, we can only assume that they lost their chips, they are in a pickle and their monies are toast.
Its a great marketing ploy if nothing else.
Cheese n' Rice!
I will open the bidding a .02 cents. Do I hear less?
Ack. Waaaay too much information.
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