menu_open
Mara Knaub Sun Staff Writer

Mara Knaub Sun Staff Writer

Yuma Sun

We use cookies to provide some features and experiences in QOSHE

More information  .  Close

First Take: Seeing glimpses of home far away from home

I love to travel and explore new places. I like learning about people’s cultures and the history of different areas. However, it’s comforting to...

latest 4

Yuma Sun

Mara Knaub Sun Staff Writer

First Take: Adventure and stress when traveling

I love traveling. I love airports. I love the hustle and excitement of an impending adventure. But I’m a little rusty. It’s been a while since I...

28.04.2024 10

Yuma Sun

Mara Knaub Sun Staff Writer

First Take: Two new members join the family

My family took in two feral kittens. My mother-in-law wanted a cat of her own, a fluffy kitten to cuddle. Relatives had a litter of feral kittens born...

21.04.2024 10

Yuma Sun

Mara Knaub Sun Staff Writer

First Take: Leave baby wildlife alone

With the arrival of warmer weather, the Arizona Game and Fish Department reminds us that we need to leave baby wildlife alone. “While it might be...

14.04.2024 7

Yuma Sun

Mara Knaub Sun Staff Writer

First Take: Tone deaf or poor singer?

I have a lot of friends who love to karaoke, and they have good singing voices. I don’t. I can hear the music in my head, but it doesn’t translate...

07.04.2024 10

Yuma Sun

Mara Knaub Sun Staff Writer

First Take: Introverted extrovert or extroverted introvert?

I was invited to host an event. Um. No. I do not like being the center of attention. I’d rather be watching on the sidelines. This is partly why I...

31.03.2024 5

Yuma Sun

Mara Knaub Sun Staff Writer

First Take: Moment of panic when phone malfunctions

I had a moment of panic when I recently had trouble with my iPhone. I rely on it for work and keeping in touch with family and friends. It’s crazy...

24.03.2024 3

Yuma Sun

Mara Knaub Sun Staff Writer

An invitation to two special events

I, along with fellow Jehovah’s Witnesses from the 14 congrega- tions from San Luis to Wellton, both English and Spanish, have been inviting the...

17.03.2024 20

Yuma Sun

Mara Knaub Sun Staff Writer

First Take: Being a good friend

“A true friend shows love at all times And is a brother who is born for times of distress,” according to Proverbs 17:17. This has proven to be...

10.03.2024 5

Yuma Sun

Mara Knaub Sun Staff Writer

First Take: Dream ventures, from bakers to food trucks

Many Arizonans dream of owning an artisanal bakery, according to a survey. HostingAdvice.com surveyed 3,000 employees to find out their dream...

03.03.2024 4

Yuma Sun

Mara Knaub Sun Staff Writer

First Take: Time for rattlesnake encounters

It’s springtime! Well, at least the weather is spring-like. I read an article that this is when rattlesnakes emerge after their winter hibernation....

25.02.2024 6

Yuma Sun

Mara Knaub Sun Staff Writer

First Take: Horse and buggy and fast cars

My mother-in-law says she should have been born in the 19th century. She hates technology and cars are too fast for her. She believes she was meant to...

21.02.2024 9

Yuma Sun

Mara Knaub Sun Staff Writer

First Take: Celebrating bad customer service?

While people complain about the poor customer service at some local establish-ments, a restaurant in Japan intentionally treats customers badly, and...

18.02.2024 5

Yuma Sun

Mara Knaub Sun Staff Writer

First Take: The reason I mull so often

One of the challenges of writing on a regular basis is trying not to repeat the same words too often. It’s mostly a losing game. After all, language...

14.02.2024 4

Yuma Sun

Mara Knaub Sun Staff Writer

First Take: When watching in the sideline got me in trouble

Someone recently complained about kids playing ding dong ditch. In my neighbor-hood, people were always outside, so it was impossible to play...

11.02.2024 8

Yuma Sun

Mara Knaub Sun Staff Writer

First Take: A criminal for tripping?

I tripped while covering an event, and security swooped down on me, wanting to take me to the security office. I refused, determined to stay and do my...

07.02.2024 3

Yuma Sun

Mara Knaub Sun Staff Writer

First Take: A little Noah’s Ark with 3 cats and 5 dogs

Somehow my house has become a little Noah’s Ark, with three cats and five dogs. My mom and her five shih tzus now live with me. Like most things, it...

31.01.2024 10

Yuma Sun

Mara Knaub Sun Staff Writer

First Take: Keep that microphone away from me!

Don’t hand me the karaoke microphone. Ever again. I already knew this was a bad idea, but I still did it. At the insistence of others. How they must...

28.01.2024 6

Yuma Sun

Mara Knaub Sun Staff Writer

First Take: Working on being a good listener

I’m working on being a good listener, and this requires more than just sitting in silence while someone speaks. According to a CNBC story featuring...

24.01.2024 5

Yuma Sun

Mara Knaub Sun Staff Writer

First Take: This is why we put up with the Yuma summers

Lately I’ve been hearing weather-related stories from snowbirds. It’s no wonder they come to Yuma for a few months. I have never experienced such...

21.01.2024 6

Yuma Sun

Mara Knaub Sun Staff Writer

First Take: Celebrate the raves, not just the rants

I read a good observation about the Yuma business rants and raves page on social media. A person noted that a quick scroll shows most raves had 20 or...

17.01.2024 3

Yuma Sun

Mara Knaub Sun Staff Writer

First Take: When life seems unfair

Life is not fair. It’s something that every child inevitably will hear at some point in their young lives. And as we grow up, we see it for...

14.01.2024 6

Yuma Sun

Mara Knaub Sun Staff Writer

First Take: Border Patrol agents now better prepared for sticky situations

Border Patrol agents have a new tool in their arsenal for when they’re patrolling the desert terrain: a comb. And it isn’t just for grooming their...

10.01.2024 6

Yuma Sun

Mara Knaub Sun Staff Writer

First Take: Friends of all ages

Last weekend I joined a group of friends on a trip to the movie theater, and I loved that our group was comprised of about 50 friends of all ages. I...

07.01.2024 6

Yuma Sun

Mara Knaub Sun Staff Writer

First Take: Reaching all the nooks and crannies

03.01.2024 6

Yuma Sun

Mara Knaub Sun Staff Writer

First Take: Those loud, scary noises!

Oh no. It’s that time of the year again. You’ve heard it before. Fireworks and firecrackers make my mom’s dogs crazy with fear. They shake and...

31.12.2023 5

Yuma Sun

Mara Knaub Sun Staff Writer

First Take: When a majestic creatures falls out of the sky

A majestic creature fell out of the sky into our backyard on Monday. It was a beautiful horned owl. Unfortunately, it was dead. It’s terribly sad to...

27.12.2023 4

Yuma Sun

Mara Knaub Sun Staff Writer

First Take: We can choose to be joyful

It’s that time of the year when people talk about peace on Earth. We might not have much control over the world, but we can certainly bring more...

24.12.2023 5

Yuma Sun

Mara Knaub Sun Staff Writer

First Take: Self-checkout: love it or hate it?

Some-times I love it, sometimes I hate it. I’m talking about the self-checkout at the store. An AP story noted that self-checkout was supposed to...

20.12.2023 10

Yuma Sun

Mara Knaub Sun Staff Writer

First Take: When stage fright strikes

I didn’t know I had stage fright until I was invited to talk before a group. I had previously talked before large groups. I had appeared in a Bible...

17.12.2023 4

Yuma Sun

Mara Knaub Sun Staff Writer

First Take: What packs the ERs

As I write this, I’m in the hospital. My mom fell and hit her head. Last time she fell, she had a small brain bleed so although she wasn’t in too...

13.12.2023 6

Yuma Sun

Mara Knaub Sun Staff Writer

First Take: Snowbirds and cops: it’s all good

I received the following note from a reader who winters in Yuma: “I don’t know who decided ‘snowbird’ was derogatory and ‘winter visitor’...

10.12.2023 5

Yuma Sun

Mara Knaub Sun Staff Writer

First Take: Border lines a real test of patience

I had to take my kitty to the vet on Monday. He hasn’t been feeling well. I hate taking my pets to the vet because it’s such a stressful event for...

06.12.2023 10

Yuma Sun

Mara Knaub Sun Staff Writer

First Take: Tell us your business wishes and your favorites in Yuma

I’ve got two favors to ask you. One, let us know what businesses you wish would come to Yuma. It’s for the annual Comings & Goings Business Wish...

03.12.2023 3

Yuma Sun

Mara Knaub Sun Staff Writer

First Take: Rats as rescuers? Yup

Rats that help rescue disaster survivors? At first I thought this must be a joke. It can’t be for real. So I looked it up fully expecting it to be...

29.11.2023 5

Yuma Sun

Mara Knaub Sun Staff Writer

First Take: Beware of the “humble brag”

I recently read a reminder that made me chuckle. It was a reminder to beware of the “humble brag.” The article on jw.org pointed out that some...

27.11.2023 2

Yuma Sun

Mara Knaub Sun Staff Writer

First Take: Remember to shop local and small this Saturday

Did you know that this coming Saturday is Small Business Saturday? Sandwiched between Black Friday and Cyber Monday, Small Business Saturday began in...

22.11.2023 1

Yuma Sun

Mara Knaub Sun Staff Writer

First Take: Why I need a vacation from my vacation

I was on vacation this past week, but it really wasn’t a vacation. And I’m exhausted. My mom came to live with me, and I’m very happy about...

19.11.2023 7

Yuma Sun

Mara Knaub Sun Staff Writer

First Take: We don’t have to be good at something to enjoy it anyway

We don’t have to be good at something to enjoy doing it? In a blog, CNN’s AJ Willingham shared that she has started doing art although she’s...

15.11.2023 4

Yuma Sun

Mara Knaub Sun Staff Writer

First Take: What is it with the pickleball craze?

What is it with the pickleball craze? It seems that everyone is into it lately. And pickleball fanatics picked Arizona as the best state to play...

12.11.2023 6

Yuma Sun

Mara Knaub Sun Staff Writer

First Take: When you land in Austria, instead of Australia

Imagine trying to fly to Australia and accidentally ending up in Austria. Perhaps not likely, but maybe it has happened due to the similarities in the...

08.11.2023 4

Yuma Sun

Mara Knaub Sun Staff Writer

First Take: Dreaming about your teeth falling out? You’re not alone

I get a kick out of studies and surveys. It gives me insight into how people think. I recently read about the top most common dreams in Arizona....

05.11.2023 5

Yuma Sun

Mara Knaub Sun Staff Writer

Thawing out my frozen shoulder

Have you heard of frozen shoulder syndrome? I hadn’t...until it happened to me (although the official diagnosis is pending the result of X-rays). My...

01.11.2023 4

Yuma Sun

Mara Knaub Sun Staff Writer

First Take: Seeing life with rose-colored glasses

I’ve had people comment on how much tragedy I’ve had in my life. But don’t we all? We all experience hardships to varying degrees at different...

29.10.2023 5

Yuma Sun

Mara Knaub Sun Staff Writer

First Take: Embracing aging and gray hair: Do I dare?

Some celebrities are embracing the aging process and not dying their gray hair. Men, like George Clooney, have long done it and they’re called...

25.10.2023 3

Yuma Sun

Mara Knaub Sun Staff Writer

First Take: Saying goodbye to Smokey

I bid farewell to my sweet kitty Smokey on Friday. He and his brother Bandit joined our family almost 15 years ago. Smokey has been sick and after...

22.10.2023 5

Yuma Sun

Mara Knaub Sun Staff Writer

First Take: Teach your kids Spanish while they're still kids

Accord-ing to the Pew Research Center, 24% of Latino American adults say they can “only carry on a conversation in Spanish a little or not at...

18.10.2023 1

Yuma Sun

Mara Knaub Sun Staff Writer

First Take: One year later, thanks again for the love and kindness

Today is the first anniversary of my husband’s death. The past year went by so fast yet it’s like time stood still. His family and I have missed...

15.10.2023 3

Yuma Sun

Mara Knaub Sun Staff Writer

First Take: But is it stealing?

If something is left by the curbside, can a passerby take it? It’s generally understood that once items are put outside by the street, they are...

09.10.2023 3

Yuma Sun

Mara Knaub Sun Staff Writer

First Take: Why I hate to drive

I don’t like to drive. I dream of having a full-time chauffeur or being able to afford a self-driving car. I’ve never understood why I hate...

08.10.2023 3

Yuma Sun

Mara Knaub Sun Staff Writer

ac52742d5b8b811ccf3fa830f0c86cc7