Happy as a clam?

I used the expression recently in an e-mail to a friend, who replied: "How did clams get so freakin’ happy?"

So it got me thinking about this abundant Northwest shellfish. Clams live in the mud and rarely see daylight. People chase them around with shovels. If the clam digger misses, clams just keep living their mucky existence below the sand. If the digger breaks the shell, the clam dies a horrible death at the beak of some hungry seagull. And horror of horrors, if the digger is lucky & catches the clam, he’s dumped into a bucket of water, taken home, and thrown live into boiling water.

I’m still looking for the happy part…