> [Erdős] said, “Guy, veel you have a coffee?” It cost a dollar, a small fortune to a professor of mathematics at the hinterland University of Calgary who was not much of a coffee drinker …. When they sat with their coffee, [Erdős] said, “Guy, you are eenfeeneeteley reech; lend me 100 dollars.”

> “I was amazed,” recounted Guy. “Not so much at the request but rather at my ability to satisfy it. Once again, Erdős knew me better than I know myself. Ever since then, I’ve realized that I’m infinitely rich: Not just in the material sense that I have everything I need, but infinitely rich in spirit in having mathematics and having known Erdős.”

I don't mean to interpret this too literally, but I don't understand. How can it be that someone has to check his budget for a dollar cup of coffee, but is infinitely rich, in (as he himself says) not just, but at least, the literal sense of having $100 to spare?

(I know that the point is the richness of knowing Erdős, a privilege I missed—my Erdős number is and will probably remain 3—but the non-metaphorical part of the story doesn't make any sense to me. Also, it avoids the question of whether Guy made the loan!)