Sherm, with all other items that show up in the OS X menu bar, you can choose to show or hide that menu bar item by going to the preferences for that item. If I want to hide the AirPort menu bar item I can go to Internet Connect and choose to hide the icon. What I was pointing out is that what works on the rest of the OS doesn't work with the Bluetooth menu bar item.

As I am sure you are aware, it is mucj easier for people to work with their Macs under OS X if the behavior of the OS is consistent. In this case, it isn't...