I think the key words are "people who stared directly at the sun for several minutes went to see their doctor". I saw the 1999 eclipse in Aruba, and I don't remember taking off my eclipse glasses. Or maybe I just took them off briefly when the eclipse was total. The eclipse lasts fewer than several minutes, so they're looking at the eclipse when it's not total any longer. The change from totality to not-totality was dramatic, in Aruba, and so it was very obvious.

If you're somewhere where the eclipse isn't total, you always need your eclipse glasses. You seem to know that.

Here's a nice link for the eclipse weather forecast as of Aug 11, 2017:
eclipse 2017

My brother sent it. We will be at my other brother's home on the eclipse path in Wyoming.

It is OK to directly look at the sun only when the totality happens. Otherwise, you need the special eclipse glasses if you plan to observe the sun for a long time. Keep in mind, totality usually won't last long (about 2 minutes in Oregon this time). So during the solar eclipse, most of the time, you need the special eclipse glasses. One more thing to emphasize, there will be some moments when the solar eclipse will be very close to totality but not exactly, so it is always a good idea to keep the glasses on or at least do not try to stare at the sun for too long.

While the eclipse is total, yes. Generally, the answer to that is if it hurts your eyes, stop looking at it. A quarter-second glance directly at the sun even without an eclipse won't destroy your vision, but it will hurt, so that's your cue to stop looking at it.