Jim Stone bristled at the reference to Santa Claus.
But what else would you call a retired informational systems exec from Boston University who gleefully picked up the tab for 100 winter coats, hats and gloves for city kids in desperate need of them?
Yeah, Santa sounds about right.
But this 55-year-old gentleman who sported dress cowboy boots and a blue blazer with an FBI logo preferred to wrap his yuletide spirit in the clipped language of Sgt. Joe Friday.
“Operation Winter Warm-up is a joint project between the FBI Citizens’ Academy Alumni and the Boston Police officers of Area B-3,” Stone said yesterday, seated with Capt. Joseph Boyle at the Mattapan station. Indeed it was.
But for Boyle, who sat in front of all those coats and hats with an incandescent smile, “Operation Winter Warm-up” might have just as easily been called “It’s A Wonderful Life.”
This cop had found his own Christmas angel. Boyle was about to escort Jim Stone up to the Tech Academy Charter School, where Mary Skipper, the school’s principal, and Tremain Bell, president of the senior class, were waiting to receive 36 sets of coats, hats and gloves from Stone, Boyle and Sgt. Tim Torigian, community affairs officer for B-3. Skipper had already identified those students in need of the winter garments.
“Most of our students walk to school,” Skipper said, “and too many walk in here on the coldest mornings in just a sweatshirt. The children in the most need of this gift will receive it. But I’m sure you understand that it can’t be done before a camera.
“We have such a wonderful relationship with the officers at B-3. They have been so incredibly supportive.”
Stone spent his working life as director of consulting services for BU’s information systems department, but if the chance had presented itself, Stone said, he would much rather have been a cop or a G-man.
“Law enforcement was my lifelong passion,” he said, “along with trying to help kids.”
Clearly, Boyle’s community service operation has been blessed with a benefactor, whose participation in the FBI’s Citizens’ Academy has dovetailed perfectly with the FBI’s community outreach efforts in the city.
“People like Jim Stone don’t come walking in here every day,” Joe Boyle said. “A few weeks ago, he took 75 kids from this community in town to see a live stage production of the Velveteen Rabbit. They loved it.”
Jim Stone may wear a blue blazer with an FBI crest, but to a boss of one of the busiest police stations in the city, he looks just like Father Christmas.