Lauri - as a practical matter, he should call a local passport service (I found several doing a google search for 'passport service dallas tx') immediately and see if they can meet his deadline. You are correct - the closest place to do it himself is to see if he can even get an appointment in time at Houston's passport agency. If so, he needs certain documentation and forms ready to go, along with payment for the new passort. For the fee the passport service would charge, it's probably still cheaper than an unplanned trip to Houston.

Cheers, Anne