“I’d say twelve is the normal age when a kid around here comes...

“I’d say twelve is the normal age when a kid around here comes outside alone for the first time. That’s when the trouble starts. When you’re fresh outside and nobody’s telling you what to do. My mom kept me inside until I was fourteen. Both my brothers had been to juvenile, so she was more strict with me. I got arrested four times that first year. Probably four times the next year too. I never went to The Island, but my mom kept having to pick me up from the precinct. They called it ‘Disorderly Conduct,’ but it was almost always for fighting. A group of kids would walk by from another block, and they’re staring, and somebody yells out: ‘What are you looking at?’ And believe it or not– that’s all it takes. One little sentence. Everybody wants the pride of saying they didn’t back down. I could have chosen not to participate. But it’s hard to avoid. Imagine if one hundred people around you are smoking cigarettes. Nine times out of ten, you’re going to start smoking.”