A salute to the couples

As characters go, they are easy to spot. Though they vary in age, vocation, temperament, and even role within a series, they all have one thing in common. They have been married for a long time.

Joel and Grace Smith started it off in The Mine. From the moment they met as college students to the moment they welcomed their first grandchild, they anchored the Northwest Passage series.

Geoffrey and Jeanette Bell did much the same in the American Journey set. They managed a series of time travelers in their Los Angeles home before taking a bow in Hannah's Moon.

Then came the patriarchs and matriarchs, the foundations of my family sagas. Tim and Caroline Carson presided over a large clan in the Carson Chronicles.

Mark and Mary Lane have done the same in the Time Box collection. Both couples were the glue that held a disparate collection of characters together.

Other couples, like the Carters in The Mine, the Greens in The Show, the Scotts in The Memory Tree, the Watanabes in Indian Paintbrush, and the Prices in Sea Spray, enhanced stories in other ways. They added color and contrast and (sometimes) comic relief.

In creating these couples, stalwarts of my series, I drew inspiration from books, movies, and real people, including two very real people who will celebrate their 70th anniversary next Thursday.

If that number looks like a typo, it's not. My parents, Jim and Mary Heldt, have been married longer than many people live. In that time, they have served as splendid role models for their six children and many grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

They have also provided much inspiration for characters they will only know through literature. For that and a hundred other things, I will always be grateful. Happy anniversary, Mom and Dad!