What's bred in the bone comes out in the roast and the contrariness of small fry

My ex boyfriend the taxidermist and big game hunter now has 2 male offspring, one is 2 the other 3. Both of them are more bloodthirsty than their father and that's going some. He says they have never seen an animal they did not want him to shoot. Deer, bobcat, coyote, bear and mountain lion, all are mere food to these boys. He says every time they see a deer they exhort him to, "Shoot it daddy!" They love fishing and gigging for bullfrogs.

My ex lives in the woods and thus gets to see and kill a lot of wildlife. He says when he first moved there he wanted to leave the wildlife alone. Right up until they began to slaughter every last one of his livestock. He no longer has goats because they attract mountain lions and he walks around with a pistol whenever the kids are in the yard. He says the bobcats and coyotes killed every chicken he had and his cat too. Since you can't keep livestock you may as well eat the wildlife.

The other day he took the kids to an Asian seafood market, Ranch 99. At this market you pick out a fish and they'll fry it up for you right there. The kids nummied down on their fishies and smacked their lips in pleasure.

My ex said that he also bought some clams to take home. Later that night he fired up the BBQ and was ready to throw the clams on the grill when his kids became hysterical. Blubbering piteously, they begged him not to kill the "Mommy, daddy and baby clams." They could not be convinced nor consoled and so their father was forced to postpone the "clam slaughter" until another time. It must be because clams are so darn, uh, cute and all.