Show us a picture of the wiring at the switch for this light fixture. Do you have a multimeter or a test light?

the answer is , no, to all of your questions. I have been at this for a while again this evening and I was able to get both lights to turn on , however they were dim and the fuse blew and while this happened there was one lonley white wire not connected to anything. If I connect the last white wire to the group of white the fuse blows as well. this photo is how it was connected when the lights turned on dim for a moment

That's a 3-way switch (i.e., there are two switches that control the lights)!!!! You should have said so. You have to figure out which the wires in in each electrical box run to the fuse box, the light(s), and between the switches. There are lots of diagrams on the Internet that show 3-way switch wiring (example).

Yep, that's a 3-way switch.

I suggest it's time to call in an electrician. In addition to figuring out the wiring for the 3-way switch and connecting it safely with all wires accounted for, it looks to me like the number of wires may be exceeding the box fill code limits and, if so, a larger box will need to be installed.

I would have hoped that someone more knowledgeable than I (Ron?), but is it allowed to have a white wire connected to a red (or any other color) wire?

Thank you for your response. I do know that the white and red connected was how it was when I took the old light fixture down and I did not touch those two wires at all. Not saying it's right, but I do know that being connected as such made the circuit whole.

mtvmike - A white wire is always to be a neutral conductor. A white wire can be used as a black, red , or other color wire if it is marked accordingly, i.e. mark the white wire at both ends with colored tape, colored markers, labelling, etc. Obviously, that practice was violated here.

If I walked into this situation, I would disconnect all the conductors/connectors in the ceiling box, and using a multimeter, find the other ends of all the wires. Using the voltage setting, identify the power source first, then shut the supply breaker off and continue with the ohms setting on the multimeter! In that way, identify the power source, the traveler wires and the load wires. Them, sit down and design/draw up a diagram of how to reconnect the wiring.

Exactly what I would advise!

Great minds think alike! ;)