Mark Kennedy is a columnist whose work appears in several sections of the Times Free Press. His human interest column "Life Stories" appears each Thursday in the Region section. He also writes the "Test Drive" automotive column in the Saturday and Sunday Business sections and the "Family Life" column in the Sunday Life section. He is contributing editor of the Edge business magazine. Kennedy has won the Tennessee Press Association's first-place awards for column writing 10 times, and is also a five-time winner of the newspaper's Best of the Best contest in the columnist/reporter category. He has also been the newspaper's features editor, Sunday editor and opinion editor. Before the merger of Chattanooga's two newspapers in 1998, he was the coordinating editor of the Chattanooga Times. Kennedy lives on Signal Mountain with his wife and two sons.
Times Free Press columnist Mark Kennedy starts a semi-regular online column about his family's experience with social distancing.
by Mark KennedyBarbara Walters once famously asked Katharine Hepburn if she were a tree, what kind of tree she would be.
by Mark KennedyLet's get this observation out of the way: Green Apple is never going to be my favorite car color.
by Mark KennedyBrainerd Cleaners, an iconic former Chattanooga-area business, is pictured here in the mid-1940s.
by Mark KennedyThe coronavirus pandemic is at least temporarily putting the brakes on some college travel activities — things such as international studies and internships, faculty travel and even faith-based mission trips abroad.
by Mark KennedyIt was only a matter of time before our 13-year-old son asked about the novel coronavirus.
by Mark KennedyConsider 3.4 seconds. A mere moment. About the time it takes to inhale and breathe out.
by Mark KennedyJi Hoon Heo, a 28-year-old Korea-born entrepreneur who moved to Chattanooga last year, is capitalizing on the Tesla boom.
by Mark KennedyThis photo from the archives of the Chattanooga Free Press housed at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga shows the steamboat Gordon C. Greene docked here in 1947.
by Mark KennedyIn Chattanooga, SUVs are the vehicles most likely to top 200,000 miles. And there's one clear endurance champ - the Toyota Sequoia.
by Mark KennedyWhen it comes to family haulers, three-row SUVs such as the 2020 Mazda CX-9 define the sweet spot. And the CX-9, shown here in Soul Red Crystal Metallic, is definitely one candy-coated confection.
by Mark KennedyOne of my go-to meals is a cheeseburger and a cold glass of skim milk.
by Mark KennedyThe redesigned Chevrolet Silverado 2500 is a heavy-duty pickup that's eager to exert its dominance. To use a personification, it flexes.
by Mark KennedyChris Haddock is a family medicine doctor in Ringgold, Georgia, and by all accounts a good one.
by Mark KennedyFowler Brothers Furniture Co., formerly at the corner of Seventh and Broad streets in Chattanooga, was a downtown landmark for decades.
by Mark KennedyRandom thought: I've been a journalist since 1980. For context, that's the year the Rubik's Cube was invented.
by Mark KennedyIn legend, Avalon was a magic island, known as a land of healing, where King Arthur convalesced after a major battle.
by Mark KennedyHere are the Top 10 audience-rated movies playing in Chattanooga this weekend, according to RottenTomatoes.com.
by Mark KennedyOn one level, this is just an old photograph of a mid-20th century military parade in downtown Chattanooga. But look a little closer and clues emerge about the probable date of this community celebration.
by Mark KennedyFor those not interested in learning the nuances of SUV-shopping, the Honda CR-V is a great default choice. It's so good in so many ways that you really can't go wrong.
by Mark Kennedy