COEUR d'ALENE - He stands, hands on his hips, chest out, head high.

Through yellow eyes, with a mouthful of grinning, equally yellow teeth, he glares at the approaching cruise boat headed to Santa's workshop across Lake Coeur d'Alene.

Don't let that red and white velvet jacket and cap fool you.

This guy is no Saint Nick.

He's out to ruin Christmas.

Meet The Grinch.

"Oh, isn't this just ducky," begins his dialogue. "A boatload of Whoville's finest on a cruise to see that hideously jolly old do-gooder, Santa. Well, I hope you all have an absolutely miserable time. That's right. Miserable, like me!"

As the boat filled with boys and girls and moms and dads passes by the dock, this green-faced character, wearing lime green pants and gloves, keeps pace, lights popping on with the click of a button as he goes.

He struts, he stomps, he hops, he jigs.

He shakes his fists and crosses his arms across his chest and sneers at children and adults peering from boat windows or lining the top deck's outside railings.

Some happily yell back. Some wave gleefully. Cameras flash.

The target of their affection continues his tirade filled with such disdain, you can feel it in his words. He really doesn't like them.

"Happy holidays and good tiding. Bah! I'd like to take all your glittery, shiny Christmas decorations and stomp them into little pieces. How do you like them tidings, baby?"

By now, the boat is pulling farther from the dock, heading into the dark on a Wednesday night, so Grinch fires off a few final words.

"Wait! Leaving so soon? I hope the elves lose your Christmas list. I hope your mistletoe is really poison ivy. Come back! I'm not through ruining your evening!"

With that, the Grinch turns and prances down the dock to where he started, sliding on snow over the final few feet.

He opens a door, and steps into a small shop. He pulls off the green rubber mask, revealing a strong, youthful face. He'll repeat that 90-second routine several times each hour as cruise boats leave the docks at The Coeur d'Alene Resort for their magical journey across the frigid, choppy lake to see Santa.

David Clemons, one of North Idaho's most talented artists, is the mean, the foul, the deplorable, Grinch.

He loves it.

"There are a lot of people who really like the Grinch. I think it must be because they have a grumpy uncle somewhere that has a warm place in their heart," Clemons says, smiling. "Bad attitude, grumpy, gripey, it endears him to them, somehow. So people like the Grinch, for reasons that can't be explained."

For the third year, Clemons is playing the character made famous by Dr. Seuss and the book, "How the Grinch Stole Chrismtas!" and brought to the big screen by Jim Carrey.

"They keep asking me back, and I keep coming back," he said. "It's fun."

Challenging, too.

Clemons figures he's up walking, jumping, moving, for 30 minutes of each hour, depending on how many boats go out. Physical acting, he says, is demanding.

He calls its a "Charlie Chaplin kind of thing."

"You take your face away once you put on a mask, so it's all got to be in your body and the physical stuff you do," he said. "Everything's got to be through your body."

For five nights a week, 5 hours or so each night, Clemons becomes Grinch during the holidays. His routine is choreographed with a pre-recorded script broadcast loud enough for the boat passengers to hear.

"Everything is so sweet and so beautiful and so memorable, it's kind of like this comic relief in the middle of it," he said.

As good as an artist as he is - Clemons created the statues at Riverstone and Higgens Point - even he needs to earn a few extra bucks.

For a time, the oil fields were calling him and his welding skills.

"I was about ready to take the RV and head for the Dakotas," he said.

But his wife, Sandy, also a performer, said they needed to be more creative to stay busy. So David, an illustrator, made some commercials, and this year, created the sets for several Christmas productions, including Little Drummer Boy, Cool Yule and Traditions of Christmas.

He's filled in as Santa at the workshop, and has played parts at Scarywood, too.

The Grinch, though, is his most beloved character. Friends are surprised when they hear the cheery Clemons plays the grouchy green guy.

"That's you?" they say. "That was cool. I like the Grinch."

Through snow or rain or wind or cold, when that boat sets out for Santa's shop across the lake, The Grinch is waiting.

He's become as popular as Santa, too, with children yelling to him, "You remember me from last year? I threw snow at you."

Once the cruise is over, passengers seek out Grinch. His humble headquarters are the small store on the boardwalk.

"I've had people walk in the door, 'Is Grinch in here? We're looking for the Grinch.' They'll bang on the door, 'Grinch, Grinch, Grinch.'"

So, what is they're after? Are they mad at the Grinch for stealing all the toys in Whoville?

Not quite.

"They want me to come out and have my picture taken with them," Clemons said.

Of course, he complies.

He's a nice one, that Mr. Grinch.