A good friend likes to say it’s about timing.

He might be talking about the delivery of a punch line, calculating when to take a certain action, or when to ask a question.

When we time things well, the punch line is funny; people react to our action in the ways we wish; or the question produces the needed results.

I get timing, and can be pretty patient in the effort to get the timing right. And then there are other times.

For instance, we had known for quite some time that Kerry Bean, who for more than seven years had led The Brewton Standard, would be moving to Birmingham this spring because her husband’s job required the move.

We were reasonably sure Stephane Nelson, who’d been at The Star-News almost eight years, would go there to fill her chair, and that that would cause things to shift in Andalusia.

I was prepared, mentally, for all of those pieces to fall in place in March. You could have knocked me over with a feather on the January afternoon of the ice storm when I learned that the Beans would be moving in two weeks.

My timing was off. Way off.

As is often the case in our industry, things happened quickly. Steph needed to be in Brewton, but had made a promise to her children that they could participate in certain events in February. I needed to be in Brewton helping her get adjusted, but somebody still had to get the newspaper out in Andalusia.

If you’ve seen either of us lately, we’re looking frazzled and pushed for time.

But sometimes, the Timekeeper knows better than we do. Steph found a house that she would have missed had her move been delayed, and is in the process of getting moved this week, which will make her less frazzled. Kendra Bolling, who previously worked with us in Andalusia but most recently has edited our sister paper, The Luverne Journal, will rejoin our staff in Andalusia March 17. The timing was right for her, too.

Kendra will be our principle designer and will lead our magazine and special sections efforts. Blake Bell, who joined us in the fall, is charged with news, news, news, and Andrew Garner will continue to cover sports and be our go-to photographer.

Meanwhile, we’re working hard to cover our territories, and greatly appreciate emails, texts and phone calls with news tips and story ideas.

Like most things we truly need, they always come at just the right time.