"Write if you find work"

I think it is a line form Strinbook's book,
the Grapes of Wrath. Mama Joad tells her son,
"Write when you find work." when he leaves. The
line got picked up, from what my friends tell me,
by Bob and Ray, the 1940's comedy duo. They ended
their radio program each week by saying,
"Write when you find work and hang by your thumbs." I first learned the phrase from my brother Ralph. He would often say good-bye by telling people, "Write when you find work."
I think the original phrase used the word "When"
instead of the word, "If" because when you are
in desperate straits, you have to assume that they
will find work.

Thanks,

Rod Reinhart

Yes, Bob & Ray. I was puzzling over this question, and couldn't put my finger on it. Odd, since I'm a Bob & Ray fan, and have been using this phrase all my life. (I yell it to my golf ball when I hit that enormous banana slice....)

Not to be nitpicky, but Bob & Ray's tag line was "Write if you get work" (not "find")

...Good Day?