Matthew Broussard, a rising figure in stand-up comedy, often gets material from his mother, Ann. Ann, 78, a retired biologist ...

Dear Eric: How long do you keep greeting cards like birthday, congratulations, holidays, thank you, and so on? I understand keeping those with sentimental value, but I tend to keep all of them.

They had hoped for around 100 cards, but found that more than 370 had been sent to the home in time for Irene's birthday party, with a mixture of homemade and shop-bought cards being sent in.