I would let a pro answer, but I think an electrician should check the box. It would depend on the main breaker and whether that was a split breaker (two separate breakers tied together) or something else. For a split breaker, one side may have tripped but without tripping the other side.

1), naw, I don't think so.
2) maybe a loose neutral, which should be checked. If any of those fading things were downstream of the light that blew, the wiring should be rechecked along that circuit.

Thank you! We wound up deciding to leave the power off, since the low levels & variability could damage various appliances, so I've only now been able to use my computer & check messages.

The power company agreed to return & re-check things. They replaced several things between the road & our house, including one wire that was stretched too tight... but that didn't help.

By great good fortune, the "emergency" electrician finally checked his messages and called us. He was on vacation, but we're between his camp and his home, so he stopped by and replaced several breakers including the main breaker. One aluminum thing was so corroded it had a large crack. He just left.

Still not positive why the power was so variable, or what (if any) connection there was to the short my husband accidentally made, BUT everything is working now. Sweet relief!

It sounds like the breaker failed to trip on the branch circuit, resulting in an overload on the main breaker which also failed to trip properly, resulting in charred contacts in the breakers. Cycling the breakers improved the contact but did not fix the underlying problem.
Do you, perchance, have a Federal Pacific brand CB panel and breakers? They are off of the market due to this type of bad reliability.
If the breakers are in a damp environment, interernal corrosion can also have this effect.