Glancing at the eclipse while it’s in totality is not going to give you permanent damage. Now if you stare at it until totality is over and the sun is on full blast again…
Yes, get yourself eclipse glasses, a pinhole projector, a floppy disk, digital camera or whatever allows you to observe the eclipse safely – no phenomenon is worth risking your eyesight over. However, the consensus is that you can watch the sun flares without protection during totality. The totality lasted 0 to 4 minutes depending on your location.