I've know this story for ages, though I certainly can't recall where I first heard it. I've never come across it in any of the biographies or biographical articles that I've read of Einstein, but I admit that I haven't read that much over the past few years. If anyone knows a source, please let me know. So here goes:

An admirer of Einstein, apparently a newspaper reporter, made a date to meet him for an interview. They agreed to meet on one of the bridges of Vienna. As is bound to happen, the admirer/reporter was delayed, and upon finally arriving, running and out of breath, was full of apologies: "Herr Einstein, pardon my being late. I know how important your time is."

To which Einstein supposedly replied: "It doesn't matter. What I do I can do here as well as anywhere else."

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