The mailbox is bulging, so let’s lighten its load on a sizzling Sunday in the summer that would never end.

They say that tempers get shorter as the days get hotter, but it appears we’re having an unseasonal outbreak of downright decent behavior here in River City.

The other day, longtime Waco resident Les DuPuy emailed me that he was on the receiving end of a random act of kindness, or “RAK,” as he calls it.

“I was having lunch at Bubba’s in Hewitt,” Les reported. “It was crowded, so I asked a couple of guys sitting at a larger table if I could join them. They graciously said yes.

“They ordered and I followed suit, as they seemed to have eaten there before. While waiting for the food, we talked about them and about Allergan, where they worked. They finished before I did and as they left, Dennis (I cannot remember his last name) shook my hand and said my meal ticket was paid.

“This caught me by surprise. I was so flustered I was not able to adequately show my appreciation. I called over at Allergan trying to get his last name, but was unsuccessful.

“So to get even with Dennis, I am on a ‘Random Act of Kindness’ mission myself. So watch out Waco, there is at least one more RAK out there.”

Five days after Les’ email, the Trib ran a letter to the editor from Crystal Blattel of Fort Hood. She and her soldier husband were eating lunch at Souper Salad in Waco on Aug. 8 when an anonymous stranger bought a gift card and asked the cashier to give it to them.

“We were very surprised by this sincere act of kindness,” Crystal wrote.

“In Killeen people are used to seeing soldiers, but every time we come to Waco and he’s in uniform, several people will tell him, ‘Thank you for your service.’ Those words mean so much to him. And we truly wish we were able to thank the person who bought the gift card.”

I asked Les if he was the anonymous stranger who perpetrated this good deed as payback for the meal bought for him.

“It wasn’t me,” he said. “I’m still stalking my victim. Maybe RAKs are on the move.”

So maybe there is such a thing as a free lunch after all. If you see Les at a restaurant this week, be sure you strike up a conversation with him.

Better yet, why not commit a Random Act of Kindness yourself?

New license for farmers

A few weeks back we discussed a proposal by the U.S. Department of Transportation to require a commercial driver’s license for anyone who drives a farm tractor on the shoulder of the highway.

I opined that this idea was awful, and was evidence of our nation’s continued drift away from its rural roots.

That struck a chord with Waco reader J.D. Chastain, age 86.

“I hope the agricultural groups and Farm Bureau eat them alive,” J.D. wrote. “I was raised on a farm in Brown County, the last of a large family of four daughters and seven sons . . . At age 14-15, I drove horses and mules to pull the cultivator, planter, stalk-cutter, etc . . .

“We finally got a Farmall F-12 and was I ever glad. It had no power lift and had steel lugs on the rear wheels. The fun soon wore off. Moving from field to field, we drove mostly in the ditch to keep from damaging the country roads . . .”

J.D. summed up the plan to license tractor jockeys this way: “Some bunch of bureaucrats sit in an air-conditioned office, never having touched even a hoe, and hatch up this dumb, crazy stuff.”

Well, I’m delighted to report today that even bureaucrats know when it’s time to holler calf rope. After farm groups raised old billy about the proposal, the feds have dropped the idea.

More hot in Waco puns

Last Sunday’s column on the heat wave caught the eye of Mike and Rachael Adams of Fort Pierce, Fla.

They were in Waco to help their daughter, Caitlin, get settled in for the semester at Baylor, where she’s a graduate student in music performance.

“Just wanted you to know how much we enjoyed the way Texans describe the heat,” Rachael wrote. “We were thinking of witty sayings all the way back to Florida. We own a cattle ranch, so thought you might like these:

“It’s so hot in Waco that cow pies come pre-cooked.

“It’s so hot in Waco that squatting with your spurs on gives a whole new meaning to wearing the popular brand.”

Donnis Baggett is publisher and editor of the Waco Tribune-Herald . His email address is dbaggett@wacotrib.com. His mailing address is P.O. Box 2588, Waco, TX 76702-2588.