Out on the Town Music lover Tonia Eaton has adapted to life in a wheelchair, continuing to show up for live shows. By Sara Rubin Growing up in small-town Alaska, Tonia Eaton played alto saxophone and sang in a choir. As a child, she thought she might become a musician. Her interests developed in a di erent direction and she found her way into a career in tech, but she never lost her a ection for live performance. “I really respect anyone who’s on the stage, even if I don’t like the music,” Eaton says. She moved to Salinas during the dot-com boom years, commuting to a job as a web designer in San Jose. She was always on the go, out for shows all the time. en the dot-com bust left Silicon Valley looking like a ghost town, and osteoporosis left Eaton with diminishing mobility. She started to focus on her own community of Monterey County, where she discovered a surprising amount of music venues. “You can’t possibly do as many things as you would want to do— there’s something going on almost every day,” she says. “ e audience can draw out the best in a performer, and I think Monterey County has an engaged audience.” Advancing osteoporosis led to an increasingly severe disability, eventually landing Eaton in a wheelchair, her bones too weak for walking safely. But she views her wheelchair as an enabling tool, rather than a constraint: “Otherwise I’d be in a nursing home,” she says. “I would be stuck.” is way, she can live independently and, with the help of Monterey-Salinas Transit Rides, get around to venues for live music—and bookstore events, theatrical plays and restaurants—all over Monterey County. She started writing about musicians and landed a job as a freelance music writer for Monterey County Weekly. She still works as a web designer (from home). Eaton has become attuned to accessibility, noting that some venues are not accessible in practice, even if they claim to be so in theory. She has gotten comfortable notifying venue management of obstacles they might overlook, like curbs or even a single step. “I need to be an advocate sometimes,” she says. “Some people don’t speak up, and I am willing to.” She says it’s important that the general public understands no two disabilities are alike, and to avoid making assumptions. “ ere is a spectrum of mobility,” she says. Travel logistics are more complicated and Eaton’s schedule revolves around MST’s, but she still makes a point of getting where she wants to go as a fan of live entertainment. And she feels grateful. “I super appreciate when I get to go out and sit at a co ee shop and look at the ocean,” she says. “People don’t realize you can just do that any day of the week. It’s quite a trek to get out there, and just say: wow.” DANIEL DREIFUSS La Casa Adult Day Health Center Centro de Salud para Adultos La Casa • A multi-service adult day health and activities center serving adults and seniors with two or more chronic conditions. • Centro de salud y cuidado de adultos de multiservicio y centro de actividades sirviendo adultos y personas mayores con dos o más condiciones crónicas. M-F/L-V 8am-2pm www.lacasacenter.com (831) 998-8130 (831) 222-6122 San Andreas Regional Center (SARC) Centro Regional San Andreas (SARC) • Services for individuals with developmental disabilities including service coordination, family support services, residential care, supported living, and information and referrals. • Servicios para personas con discapacidades del desarrollo que incluye coordinación de servicios, servicios de apoyo familiar, atención residencial, vida asistida e información y referencias. M-F/L-V 8am-5pm www.sanandreasregional.org (831) 900-3636 Share the Care Comparte el Cuidado • Evidence-informed model for family, friends, and associates to pool time and resources to share caregiving responsibilities. • Modelo basado en evidencia para familiares, amigos y asociados para juntar tiempo y recursos para compartir responsabilidades de cuidado. www.sharethecare.org (212) 991-9688 Family and Caregiver Services Servicios para Familiares y Cuidadores 48 THE BEST OF MONTEREY BAY® LIVING WELL 2026-2027
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