Mowery has a Ph.D. in writing and literature from Southern Illinois University, Carbondale. In the following essay he examines the psychological struggles of a lad trying to make his way among stevedores on the waterfront in Chile.

Henry David Thoreau wrote: "The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation." In the story "The Glass of Milk," the main character, a thin youth, engages his sense of desperation as an internal quest for personal identity. He "was gripped by that fascination of the sea which molds the most peaceful and orderly lives as a strong arm a thin rod." He left the comfort of his family for the rough exotic life among the tramps and criminals, hoping to become a man among the stevedores who worked on the docks. He has spent several months working with some success at various tasks on ships plying the coasts...