In Aesop's famous tale, a hare was making fun of a tortoise for being slow, so they decided to race. Early in the race the hare had a big lead, so it decided to take a nap. While it slept, the tortoise passed by and won the race. I've been told the moral of this story is “slow and steady wins the race,” but I've also seen it explained as “the race is not always to the swift.” But I have issues with both of these interpretations.

Fast and steady wins races. In fact, the fastest and most consistent are the winners of every race. In the end, it's the definition of a race that whoever (or whatever) wins is deemed the fastest. While Aesop's rabbit was fast, it was not so swift—intellectually, that is. Unless the rules of the race aren't fair, the race is always to those who are most mentally swift and talented.

The issue here is that not everything should be described as a race. And here's where water professionals are concerned, because although “slow and steady” is important for making progress, the water industry isn't a race. It's an unending duty that's never “won.” There's no starting gun or finish line to cross—just people who need safe water every day. While some industries can be thought of as races, ours is a responsibility. And when water professionals retire, they hand those responsibilities off to the next generation, with each working steadily—fast or slow—to make things better.

Like most situations, things aren't always so binary, and we all fall somewhere between a tortoise and a hare. Wherever you fall on that spectrum, just remember that sometimes you have to walk, but when you can, get out there and run. You'll win if you are the swiftest—just be smart about it.

This issue of Journal AWWA features articles on potable reuse, utility resiliency, capital planning, conservation, and much more. If you are interested in submitting an article, please contact me at journaleditor@awwa.org.

在伊索（Aesop）的著名故事中，一只野兔因为慢而取笑了一只乌龟，于是他们决定参加比赛。比赛初期，野兔取得了很大的领先优势，因此决定午睡。睡觉时，乌龟路过并赢得了比赛。有人告诉我，这个故事的寓意是“缓慢而稳定地赢得比赛”，但我也看到它的解释是“比赛并不总是那么迅速。” 但是我对这两种解释都有疑问。

快速而稳定的胜利竞赛。事实上，最快，最稳定的比赛是每场比赛的胜利者。最后，这是一场比赛的定义，无论谁（或任何人）获胜，都被认为是最快的。虽然伊索的兔子速度很快，但它并没有那么快-从理智上讲就是这样。除非比赛规则不公平，否则比赛始终只针对那些思维敏捷，才华横溢的人。

这里的问题是，并非所有事物都应被描述为一场比赛。这就是水务专业人员关心的问题，因为尽管“缓慢而稳定”对于取得进步很重要，但是水务行业并不是一场竞赛。这是一项永无休止的责任，永远不会“赢得”。没有起跑线或终点线可以越过，只有每天需要安全饮水的人。尽管可以将某些行业视为种族，但我们的责任是我们的责任。当水专业人士退休时，他们将这些责任移交给下一代，每一者稳定地工作（快或慢），以使事情变得更好。

像大多数情况一样，事情并不总是那么二元化，我们都落在乌龟和野兔之间。无论您处在那个频谱上的任何地方，只要记住有时您必须走路，但是如果可以的话，出去那里跑步。如果您是最敏捷的人，那么您将获胜-对此保持精明。

本期《 AWWA杂志》刊登了有关可重复使用，实用程序弹性，资本规划，保护等方面的文章。如果您有兴趣提交文章，请通过journaleditor@awwa.org与我联系。