I was 27 and just completing my first year of self-employment. (I was writing quite a bit for Lotus magazine--does anybody remember Lotus 1-2-3?--and also some for Inc magazine... and then just writing my first book for this new spreadsheet program Microsoft had created for PCs... Excel.)
Two memories of the day and the day after and then a general memory of that fall and winter...
First, the day of the crash, I remember watching everything go south... and then trying to call T. Rowe Price, which is where in those days I had a brokerage account so I could buy some stock. I can't remember the specifics, but stocks were that day, at the trough, totally on sale. The dividend yield on AT&T was astronomical and in those days you sort of still thought AT&T was blue chip rock solid. The thing was, you couldn't get through. The phone lines were jammed... I assume with people freaking.
Second, the day after the crash, the Wall Street Journal had a giant headline... sort of a "stock market crash of '29" type vibe. I remember my principal consulting client saw it and said something like "Well, keep that for your grandkids... no one will forget this crash" (BTW I kept paper for a few years and then tossed when the whole thing obviously wasn't that significant.)
A general memory: The whole thing turned around pretty quickly. I can look at a chart or table now and see how quickly things recovered. And that was what it seemed like a the time... Almost a non-event...
P.S. Friday night that week, I also remember the "Wall Street Week with Louis Rukeyser" show... Rukeyser was coaching people to stay calm and remember stuff like your family and dog still loved you.