Pig Lips and Pick Pockets

Here we have two good examples of profiles. "I'm Not Leaving Until I Eat This Thing" by John T. Edge, and "The New York Pickpocket Academy" by John Mcphee. (These guys have the same first name!) I'll start off with " I'm not Leaving Until I Eat This Thing". Edge morphs this writing into a hybrid of a profile and a personal narrative. This is actually a great idea because if you obviously have a personal experience with the thing you are wirting a profile about, why not tell it? It draws the reader in a little more, and makes the whole profile more interesting. Honestly without his little anecdote, this profile would have been completely boring. I mean, honestly, who would want to read a profile about the process of making and distributing pig lips. So with his little story of trying the pig lips he draws us in, has us keep reading, until we find out how they are at the very end. Now as for John Mcphee's profile, "The New York Pickpocket Academy", I have mixed feelings for. I'm sure to many this is a good, fun to read profile. However, for me, i thought this profile was really hard to follow. I can recall numerous times when i had to pause and read things over, and wonder which person was who, and when things were taking place. For example, Mcphee would not introduce the characters at all, he would just bring in random names, and you were forced to try and figure out who this character was. I didn't like this at all. I mean i understand how the chaotic style of writing symbolized the chaos of the 59th street farmer's market, but there's a point when you have to realize that any given reader might not being following too well.