Initiation

My name’s Jawbone, and this here is my assistant, Goggles. Don’t tell us your name, because we don’t care. Goggles and I run things around here. You see that park? That’s my park. You see this asphalt? I‘ve bled on this asphalt and it’s mine. You see that street sign, that one there hanging kind of lopsided? It says Langley Drive, and Langley Drive is mine. The grass, the windows, the bent mailbox on the other side of the street, the park’s rusty orange slide, even that dirty trash can over there - it’s all mine.
But I’m no dictator, ‘cause that ain’t right. Now don’t get me wrong, I still run everything around here. But see, what’s mine is ours. I own everything except this sorry bunch of fools lined up at your stoop. That sorry bunch is my crew, and I’ll bleed for them. You already met Goggles; he’s my assistant and he’s a damn good lookout. His specs are thicker than my grandma’s bunions...but they’re not quite as pretty. Quit laughin’ while I’m talkin’. So, I was sayin’, that’s Goggles, and he’s my assistant.
What does he do? Well he assists me.
Let’s see, who’s next? That mountain of a kid at the front of the line is Istanbul. No, he ain’t from Turkey. Have you ever played that game Punch Out, the one where you box? Yeah? You know the big, hulking, bald guy with the bump on his head, the one with the mustache that they call Bald Bull, the one you can never beat the second time ‘cause he charges at you like this? Yeah? Well tell me good ol’ Istanbul doesn’t look just like that Bald Bull from the game. That’s why we call him Istanbul. He’s our muscle.  
In the middle, that funny, frowny lookin’ kid there, is Olo. We call him that because no one can say his real name. Hey Olo, what’s your real name? See, he can’t even say it right. Hey Olo, how do you spell your real name? See, nobody knows. Well, anyway, Olo’s from Russia or something. Oh, excuse me, Olo’s from the Yoooooo Crane. Anyway, Olo’s a crafty kid, and he gets us our supplies for real cheap, if you know what I’m sayin’.
Last is Earwig. Hey, stay in line Olo! I’m not done yet! Anyway, like I was sayin’, this is Earwig. He may be small, but he’s smart; he’ll get in your head and drive you bat-shit crazy, just like an Earwig. You know, those pincher bugs that crawl in your ears and eat your brains while you sleep. You don’t believe me? I pulled one outta my ear just two nights ago and I swear it had a peace of brain in them pinchers. I haven’t felt right since. But anyway, like I said, Earwig is small, so we all look out for him. You protect him with your life. From who? From the older boys who live on Fifth and Palmer, of course.
Oh that reminds me, we got rules around here. Three of them. Rule one: if you see a boy from Fifth and Palmer on our street, give us the signal. Oh, I’ll show you the signal later; you’ll need to practice. Rule two: we play ball on Thursdays. Rule three: do what I say. If you don’t, then you gotta meet me. You gotta meet me at the corner of Park and Fifth. And if you dare meet me, you’ll never come back home.
You got that? Good.
Hey Earwig, come up here. Hurry up! Earwig was the last one to join the crew, so he gets to choose your name. We don’t give a damn about your name now, this’ll be your new name. What’s it gonna be Earwig? What? Milkbone? Man, you know we can’t call him Milkbone. This chump ain’t no Milkbone. See, Milkbone used to live in this house before you moved in. He was our big brother. Milkbone taught me everything I know. He gave me my name. I took his place when he went away. Where’d he go? Man, I wish I knew, ‘cause that’s where I’d be.
You got some shoes to fill. Yeah, you got some shoes to fill...
But anyway, you ain’t gonna fill any shoes in those sandals! You a thief? No? ‘Cause it looks like you stole those sandals off the feet of Jesus himself. Hey, that’s what we’ll call you. Sandals. C’mon Sandals; it’s Thursday, bring that ball you got there.