Fact - The name Etonbar is only three years younger than me. Can you believe it? I picked it up in Kindergarten. Some kid coined it in 1987. How did it come about? In those days in Nigeria where I grew up, most kids were sent to school with processed food from the supermarket. On the other hand, my mom prepared meals, so I carried a whole lunch box with various food compartments, and thus I became the bar, Etonbar.

Three decades later, now living in the States, I had a sip of what is known as Kombucha, and goodness, the moment my taste buds came in contact, I was taken back to my childhood days visiting my grannies in the country. The taste was familiar because, as a fermented drink, it was just like what we called palm wine. And palm wine was always something present at my grannies, and I tell you what, folks always showed up at any hour of the day. People gathering, sharing stories, that sense of community was always fascinating to me. So, it was just amazing how a Kombucha drink triggered that memory.

As years progressed, I became a sort of kombucha connoisseur, trying out every brand that existed in the marketplace. Later on, a YouTube video introduced the idea of making it at home, and I was intrigued! Brewing and experimenting with flavors became a pastime, and then the 2020 lockdown kicked it into overdrive. By the time the world reopened, I would consider myself an expert in the field of Kombucha brewery.

Then came Grad School, and in one of my entrepreneurial classes, there was a 10x10 project, requiring 10 hours a week for 10 weeks for new product or business development. The project would take my kombucha hobby from my bachelor’s pad to Paul Merage Business School. I had to personally guarantee that it was good stuff, and what other name to stick on the label? When that quarter ended and I had a chat with my mom about the product, she was elated and concluded it was good.

By June 15, 2022, I was on a high - having finished Grad school, on the dean’s list, with a finished capstone project seeking to revolutionize grassroots sports development in emerging markets. One person who would be happier than myself would be my mom, my number one fan. And then came August 1, 2022; it was supposed to be just my elder brother’s birthday, but it would also become the day moving forward that I will no longer get a phone call with the caller ID, H.E.

My mom, Helen Eton, departed from this world.