Reporter's Notebook

An aerial view of the Plinian eruption column, Mount St. Helens, on May 18, 1980. Robert Krimmel/USGS hide caption

Aleksandr Purgayev (left) and Aleksandr Selyukh grew up together, and both played for their town's soccer team in the 1970s. Purgayev is now the team's coach. Alina Selyukh/NPR hide caption

President Lyndon B. Johnson and his wife, Lady Bird, greet Tom Fletcher's family in Inez, Ky., in 1964. Fletcher was an unemployed saw mill worker with eight children. Bettman/Corbis hide caption

When reporter Kelly McEvers stepped off the train in Lincoln, Ill., she asked, "What happened to my hometown?" Kelly McEvers/NPR hide caption

Steve Lambert's art installation asks people to vote in an effort to open up the discussion about capitalism. That word can be a red flag for many, Lambert says. Jake Schlichting/Times Square Arts hide caption

NPR's Andrea Hsu paid $75 for her midcentury modern table and chairs, shown here in a 1963 Drexel Declaration catalog. She quickly realized it was a steal. Courtesy Drexel Heritage hide caption

Suzanne Hoogendijk, shown here in 2009, hid for two years with her mother in Amsterdam to escape the Nazis. Margot Adler/NPR hide caption

Tulip Courtesy of Benjamin Swett hide caption

President Obama greets law enforcement officers after speaking on ideas to reduce gun violence at the Minneapolis Police Department Special Operations on Monday. Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP hide caption

Puerto Rican hip-hop artist Tego Calderon outside his studio, El Sitio, in Santurce, San Juan, Puerto Rico. Coburn Dukehart/NPR hide caption

Grapes, a spiky cluster of wooden stools from the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), is part of Ai Weiwei's repurposed furniture series. Cathy Carver/Courtesy Hirshhorn Museum hide caption

Despite the well-publicized dangers and laws against it in many states, texting or emailing while driving remains a huge problem. Robert F. Bukaty/AP hide caption

Fitness advocate Richard Simmons, wearing his signature shorts and tank top, leads Capitol Hill staff and visitors through an exercise routine July 24, 2008, in Washington, D.C. Tim Sloan/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee greet each other before a meeting in Kolkata, India, on May 7. Dibyangshu Sarkar/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

Blackburn Rovers players wear T-shirts in support of Bolton Wanderers' midfielder Fabrice Muamba. Paul Ellis/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

Come Sail Away: Retired high school science teacher — and adrenaline junkie — Andy Sajor rides his ice boat on a frozen Lake Champlain in New York. Perfect ice sailing conditions call for cold temperatures, a strong breeze and a thick sheet of ice — but not too much snow. Sarah Harris/North Country Public Radio hide caption

The Grave Digger team of monster trucks, considered to be one of the most influential monster trucks of all time, is currently celebrating its 30th anniversary and racing in the United States Hot Rod Association (USHRA) Monster Jam series. Doriane Raiman/NPR hide caption