job as mayor of Moralton, his marriage, and his father. As a child, Clay was the only surviving child of his parents, as his mother's drinking, smoking, and fun-loving lifestyle (including riding roller coasters, jumping on a trampoline, and horseback riding) caused her to miscarry ten of Clay's unborn siblings before he was born (largely because Clay's mother spent all of her pregnancy with Clay praying for his safety). Clay's mother was a religious zealot, who spoiled Clay rotten and instructed him in the various "lost commandments" of Moses. This created tension with Clay's father, who was outright neglected by his wife in favor of his son, to the point that he was forced to eat his son's leftovers. Clay's father did try to remain a part of his life and often warned Clay of his mother's heart condition. Clay unintentionally changed life forever when he faked his own death as a prank on his mother, causing her to have a fatal heart attack. Clay's father (who was not deeply religious) never forgave Clay for his part in his mother's death and emotionally shunned his son, ultimately telling him that he's "not even worth it" upon an initial refrain from slapping him. This deeply affected Clay, causing him to seek out his father's abuse as a means to gain any sort of emotional response and validation. The two formed a casual hatred towards each other and blaming each other for the death of Clay's mother. His love for his mother would develop into an Oedipus complex many years later, as shown in "Nesting". Clay's father gives his gun, Ol’ Gunny, to him saying he is ending the male Puppington tradition of passing along the gun to one's first born son, because it's tainted with blood and wanted nothing to do with it anymore. Not wanting to feel responsible for his mother's death, Clay says he'll keep the tradition going. When Clay was in his early twenties, he was much similar to Orel, shown to be a rather mild figure who wanted to spend his days studying the Bible and drinking apple juice, showing he had a chance to have a happy life. While attending a wedding, Clay met Bloberta Hymentact. Bloberta asked about his family, Clay said "my parents are dead," not telling her the truth about his father being alive. The two went to the wedding reception together, where