I remember my first meeting with Bob May very well. I had a hobby and gift store in downtown Akron, Ohio in July 1999. One evening around 7:30 pm, a nice looking middle aged couple came in and looked around. They were well dressed and looked like most of my customers. I had no idea who this man was.

In my store I sold scale model kits and one of them was the Lost In Space Robot B-9. The television show, Lost In Space had been a favorite with me back in the 1960s as I grew up. I watched it every week. Yes, the show was a little corny, but it was entertaining and fun to watch. And as I enjoyed the entire cast of the show, the real star for me was B-9, the robot. But as most of us remember from those times, we had no idea then how this thing worked. And we didn't know there was actually a man inside of the robot's body. And I had absolutely no idea in July of 1999 that THAT man was in my store.

He picked up one of the model kit boxes and smiled and looked it over. He asked the price. I replied, "$16.00". He responded that it was a very good price as everywhere else was charging $24.99. I told him I was there to make a living, not to cheat my customers. He smiled again and said, "That's rare indeed." We talked for several minutes. It was a slow night and they were the only ones in the place.

My store was located at Quaker Square, which was the original Quaker Oats factory that had been turned into a mall building with many stores and restaurants and also housed the Quaker Hilton hotel where Bob and Judy were staying. Over the weekend the hotel was hosting a convention of old movie and TV celebrities. I had met several over the years that I had the store there. But they were all recognizable. This guy wasn't.

After a while of talking about me and the store, we talked about the old show, Lost In Space and I found out that this man had been the Robot in the show. I was surprised to say the least. He said they were there for the convention and liked to arrive a few days early to get the "lay of the land". I had a scale model of the robot that I had built and he autographed it for me. Then he also signed the original model box as well. Bob said they were going to have dinner at the hotel restaurant the next evening and asked for my wife and I to join them. We did and had a great time. I found out a ton of facts about the TV show, the robot and the others in the show's cast. Mark Goddard, another cast member, was also at the convention and one thing I found out was that he and Bob did not get along. I didn't ask why.

My wife and I had dinner twice with the May's. Both times it was a very pleasant and relaxing experience. They wanted to visit Stan Hywet Hall, the home of Goodyear founder, Frank Seiberling but would not have time to go there this trip. We had a date to visit on their next stop in Akron. They wanted us to attend with them. However, Bob would not live to make another trip to the city.

We exchanged phone numbers, e-mails and our home addresses. On Sunday, the last day of the convention, my wife and I were invited to sit with the May's at their convention booth while Bob signed autographs for his many fans. At one point he had to be interviewed by the Ghoul, a local horror show TV host. After that interview, Bob looked at me and said, "Wow! That guy was a weird one!"

Before the weekend was over, Bob had told me tons of information about his stunt work in Hollywood and how his grandfather had worked several times with the Three Stooges, Another favorite with me.

Before leaving, Bob and Judy told us to remember that they would be back and wanted to go with us to Stan Hywet. We said we would surely remember that. But sadly, it would not happen.

I met a few other actors at the convention that year. Mark Goddard and Ben Chapman who played the Creature From the Black Lagoon back in 1954. But the meetings with Bob and Judy are a very fond memory. I have built several Robot models over the years. I also have a bunch of things that Bob gave to me at the time such as a talking robot model, several small walking robots and a life size robot as well. He also gave me a Lost In Space lunch box. I will never part with these items as they remind me of a man who stopped into my store one night to look around and changed my outlook on an old TV show that I had enjoyed so long ago. Thanks Bob! And rest in peace my friend.