Michael Alan Ferry

Personal stuff?  Well, I've been happily married for almost 36 years.  My wife and I have three children, all grown now and married to terrific people.  We have one grandchild, and are looking forward to more if and when.  We attend Faith Lutheran Church in Oakville, MO, a suburb in south St. Louis county.  I love acappella music, especially four-part close harmony, and sang in a men's barbershop chorus for years until I had to stop for lack of time.  I like sports, though I spectate more than participate these days, and was a discus thrower in college after playing basketball (plus being one of the worst cross-country runners ever seen) in high school.  I love reading, especially history and mystery fiction, and among my unfulfilled ambitions, writing good mystery stories is very high on the list.  I did write a Q-and-A column on legal topics for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch for more than 15 years, and also co-produced and hosted several television programs on legal subjects, mostly back in the 1980's.  I never go back and watch them because it's too depressing to see the hair I used to have!  I also belong to Weight Watchers, which I think is a great program despite the fact that so far I've done more watching of my weight than losing it.

I've worked for legal aid programs my entire career.  This is because one of my deepest beliefs is that poor people need high-quality legal representation, and that one of our society's greatest failings is its failure to provide more of this.  I spent the first 15 years or so of my career doing consumer law, and I loved it, found it fulfilling, and still stay involved in it as much as I can.  But frankly, I think that doing Social Security law has more potential for positive impact on my clients' lives.  Helping someone get Social Security disability or SSI benefits can help them stop being homeless or keep them from becoming so, can help them keep their families together and provide for them, and also help them get much-needed medical care.  Bottom line: these benefits make peoples' lives better.  Helping people make their lives better is a good thing, it seems to me, and a worthwhile way to use whatever talents and abilities God has given me.  So that's why I do what I do.