Hey guys - I finally got around to making this change it worked like a charm. I exited ES, then made the change from terminal, wrote the changes, and launched ES from terminal.
When I got back and ran my first ROM, the cursor was still there, but every ROM I launched subsequent to that opened and exited without the cursor. I thought that detail my be worth noting for future reference. I'm finally done configuring and learning about Retropie and on to enjoying it thoroughly.
Thank you for all the incredible work, documentation, and support!!!