DICKINSON (AP) - Jim Carter is a soft-spoken truck driver who leads an ordinary life in Dickinson - except when he puts on his makeup, costume and "magic" shoes and becomes Bodiddly, the clown.

Carter, 49, became enthralled with the world of clowning after he responded to a request for volunteers to dress up like clowns for a parade last year.

"The little kids started laughing and that's all it took," said Carter. "It makes you smile inside. Your day is done. You've accomplished your goal."

Carter enrolled in the weeklong Mooseburger Clown Arts Camp in Buffalo, Minn., this summer. The camp offered a variety of clowning classes, he said.

After getting his costume and makeup, he started practicing.

"I've got my computer full of pictures. Every time I put on a face, I took a picture. I look at them, pick out different things. I stand in front of the mirror for extended periods of time, just making faces," he said.

Moving his mouth as wide as possible, he covers the area with white paint for an exaggerated expression.

"A good clown face moves to show expressions," he said.

The process of putting on the makeup takes about 45 minutes from start to finish - starting with a base of white grease paint, power, makeup and then the accent colors.

"You use the power to set the makeup," he said.

The process is complete when he glues on the red nose and applies several dots to his face.

"My dots are my trademark," he said.

Carter said applying makeup is self-taught. He picks up ideas from different groups, learning by trial and error.

"I learned right away you don't rush putting the makeup on. You want black around the eyes. It makes your eyes pop out," he said.

Exaggerated expression is true for the rest of the costume - oversized shoes or an unusual hat and tie.

"I went with the smaller tie," he said.

The name Bodiddly is the result of two months of thinking about names.

"I came up with all kinds of names - some sounded good, but the character wasn't me. One day, it came out of the blue," he said.

Bodiddly was complete.

"A clown is kind of an actor, but once he develops his character, he's himself in a sense," he said.

While in street clothes, Carter said, he doesn't laugh a lot around people.

"That's why some people who know me, tell my wife (Elaine), 'I can't believe he's a clown.' But I change when I get into makeup and get my shoes on - it's the magic shoes," he said.

He said his family supports his clowning ways.

"My in-laws - they think it's the best. They are so proud of me," he said.

Carter doesn't have a memorized script to follow - he draws on the energy of the crowd. Once when Bodiddly visited St. Benedict's Health Care Center, a resident shouted, "There's a clown in the building!" He picked up on cue, and asked "Where!" and started running around, looking for the clown.

"That gets you going. That's what a clown is - being silly," he said.

He said this year's Roughrider Parade and Family Fun Day were a blast.

For the parade, he worked with Paul Quinn, who was driving a car. Every few minutes, they got into a 'spat,' and Quinn chased him around the car with a baseball bat.

"When you're running around a vehicle being chased by him, and he's holding this huge bat, that's what's comedy," said Carter. "I think it was hilarious. The whole thing is about laughter."

The Family Fun Day was a benefit for the Best Friends Mentoring Program. Executive Director Kris Fehr said Bodiddly was great.

"People loved him. He had three or four different skits. He had kids following him, he had people laughing," she said.

"When he's not Bodiddly, he has a different personality - he's very quiet. This was really fun for us to see this side of his character," Fehr said.

She remembers the youngsters running around, asking people to help find his pants.

"The people were laughing. The little kids were so serious and into it. I thought Bodiddly would crack up, himself," she said.

She remembers another skit where Bodiddly gave out doughnut seeds - Cheerios to plant as doughnut trees.

"The adults loved that. I think they liked it even better than the kids," she said.

Carter is uncertain where his future in clowning is headed.

"It seems like one event leads to another. It's an ongoing process. It's changing my life as I'm going," he said.