Android - keep options menu open

I have an Options menu up and running in my Android application and I've overridden the onCreateOptionsMenu, onOptionsItemSelected and onPrepareOptionsMenu methods to customize the menu a little.

My question is related to keeping the Options menu open after the user clicks on a menu item. Basically, I'd like to be able to hide the menu until the user clicks on the device menu key. Once the user clicks on this key, I'd like to be able to hold the menu in place regardless of how many times the user clicks on menu items. If the user wants to hide the Options menu, they'd just need to click on the device menu key again.

Is this type of interaction supported (or even advisable). If this interaction is not supported, any alternative suggestions are more than welcome.

Cheers!

Sean