At seventy-two, Alice Mertens is not finished with life. She is starting a new one. A new mission. Alice is part of the first class of Friendship Bench peer counselors at a local hospital. She will meet folks in the shade, hear their troubles and cheer for their triumphs. Never mind that she has no grandkids, Alice and the Friendship Bench in this Midwestern city are following the inspiration of an organization in Zimbabwe. Grannies there sat...