![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje8g-FOofqWPOCWnB8cfYi_eR3eTgK741vfs-w0pvpOM4it4FpvQDf1tfDhCmKQdppeTfhk6RMvSYoJj_nVpTa2AjcIGnI-NnJzA7fhlSqzmLddLu30sK2oW31sszSg1fwYAU6_Q/s400/royston_streets.jpg)
Sometimes the journey from sketchbook to publication can take quite a while. I first drew this as a rough (below) in July of last year. It stayed in my sketchbook for a while as I wasn't sure about it – probably because the iPod had "iBusk" on it, and musical notes were coming out of it.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix97R1_mYHyu_7vQJV2akZCCf7JKWYld5u1fEOP3AdOL1Ga4IYhyJA9QzvP1VgKSNStubobUYV-WUvkNE44yJXwoRIg57u9a5QQKv9ksm66FRpBjHztyX5_DTeoSBXo-TmeCZTBw/s400/ipodruff.jpg)
Eventually, I went back to it, and once I dumped that unnecessary stuff I could see it was a better gag. It was drawn up mid-September. But even then, for reasons that now completely escape me, I didn't think it was really a Reader's Digest gag, so it was sent to several other magazines first. Add to that the fact that the Digest works a few months in advance and turned out to be a bit of a trip for the poor young thing!