This week saw the end of a 40-year-long relationship between Japan Airlines and a rural Washington town half a world away from JAL’s headquarters. Moses Lake, Wash., lies 180 miles east of Seattle in the middle of irrigated fields and rangeland. One commodity which the area has in abundance — miles and miles of open space — is something that Japan lacks. In 1968 Moses Lake also could offer its Grant County International Airport – boasting one of the largest runways in the U.S. and hangars large enough to accomodate 747s – what had been Larson Air Force Base until it was decommissioned in 1966. At that time JAL needed somewhere its pilots, co-pilots and flight engineers could receive training and practice touch-and-goes in the fleet’s Boeing 747s. Since the first training flights began in 1968, it is estimated that some 10,000 crew members have trained in Washington, and the community there has enjoyed many benefits from the relationship. There are the obvious financial ones, ranging from hotel rooms, meals, fuel and other commodities used by the trainees, their instructors and their families. Beyond that, Moses Lake and her Japanese sister city, Yonezawa, have established goodwill and cultural exchanges, spurred by JAL. For 30 years, Moses Lake sixth graders were guests of an annual day of scenic flights JAL provided, hosted by flight attendants brought from Japan for the occasion. The company has contributed to city parks programs and classes at the local community college. And even though the training program is ending, the airline is committed to continuing a youth program that sends five high school students, along with their chaperones, to Japan each year. As the editorial board of the local paper said, “They . . . gave us a sense of the world beyond the Pacific Ocean.” Now, progress of a sort has brought this happy relationship to an end. JAL is switching to Boeing 787 Dreamliners, planes which are more fuel efficient and require shorter runways than the 747s. Training may now take place at Oita Airport in Japan, saving the expense of maintaining the training program in Moses Lake. Nevertheless, I get the sense that the friendships and ties established over the last forty years will be maintained, and the benefits realized from them will continue to bless those involved on both sides of the Pacific for years to come. Patty Vanikiotis, proofreader