Traveler finds ‘respect and dignity’ in Bend like nowhere else

A woman whose travels brought her to Bend says she’s grateful for another woman’s generosity.

When Carol Kelley’s service dog, Dot, was sick, a stranger stepped in to pay the bill — and also put about $150 in Kelley’s account for future visits to the vet

Currently, Kelley is staying at Thousand Trails Campground, south of Bend.

She is 61 years old, and after leaving California, she spent 30 years living in Texas.

Then, after a series of major setbacks, including a number of brain injuries, she decided to hit the road with a camper.

She’s been traveling around the U.S. for the past five years. But it’s not all it’s cracked up to be, and recently Kelley realized she’s no longer just “traveling” or “visiting family” — she’s actually homeless.

“It got to a point where I’m not really so much traveling as looking for a home, a place that I can feel like I’m OK, that I’m a human being,” Kelley said Tuesday. “So that’s what I’ve been looking for the last year of my travels.”

And when she arrived it Bend, she said it felt different: Not only do the drivers let you cut in, but people seem to truly care for each other.

And that doesn’t just mean the kind woman at the vet clinic, but everyone

“The receptionist lady came up and told me the lady put more money on my books and that I could bring Dot back any time I needed to,” Kelley recalled. “And I’m like, ‘Oh my God!’ — and then I told my friends about it. Hell, I told everyone. I mean, I have never been treated with such dignity and respect (as) up here in Bend.”

And Kelley said she’s grateful for it all, again remembering the kindness of a stranger: “She doesn’t know how much she helped me that day. It wasn’t just helping me afford Dot’s visits, it was helping me realize I was a human being again and a sister, treated with respect and dignity.”

And Kelley also made her entrance onto the stage. She decided to do something she always wanted to do, but never could. She started doing stand-up comedy at open mic nights.

“If I can make one person laugh a day, it’s been a good day,” she said.

Kelly wil be heading south for the winter, but has applied for low-income housing in Bend and plans to return next spring.

And she was doing her stand-up comedy routine Tuesday night at Seven Restaurant and Nightclub in Bend.