Alongside Jackson Square on Friday afternoon, a crowd gathered in hopes that Louis Sahuc, the 78-year-old photographer and curmudgeon, would stroll onto his wrought-iron balcony to greet them with his usual booming voice.
It was a long shot. Three days earlier, with his heart failing fast, Sahuc had called some of his closest friends to say goodbye.
In response, they hired the To Be Continued brass band and planned an homage outside his longtime apartment in the Lower Pontalba building. At around 4 p.m., with their eyes fixed on the balcony, the group of white-haired friends struck up the band and began dancing for him, waving white paper